Neil Young writes open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: “You are the person our country needs”
Neil Young has endorsed the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, in an open letter on his Neil Young Archives website.
Carney, who was formerly the chief of the Bank of England, took over in office in January from Justin Trudeau, who resigned after serving in the role for more than nine years. He is the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.
Now, Young has shared a message of support to Carney ahead of the elections which are set to take place on April 28th.
The singer-songwriter shared: “Although I have lived in the United States for most of my life, and recently became a citizen of the USA, I am a Canadian and always will be. Now a dual citizen, I was born in Toronto, lived in the small town of Omemee, Ontario, endured polio when I was so young, I hardly understood what was happening to me and worried every day that I was going to die.”
Reflecting further on his childhood, Young added: “It’s a miracle I survived and my childhood continued. My parents were wonderful. They let me have chickens. They let me play my guitar. Our dinner conversations covered everything from world issues, to sports, to stuff that was just plain interesting. But life isn’t perfect and our family split up. That’s when I moved to Winnipeg with my mom and the course of my life became clear. I became a musician and played at high schools and community clubs throughout the wonderful province of Manitoba.”
The musician, who is set to headline Glastonbury this summer, then explained how he has “the luxury of a spotlight”, which provides him with a platform “to bring attention to important causes and try to lead the charge through my music for rights and fairness on behalf of the people”.
Young, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, implied the politician is responsible for Canada “facing threats to its very existence.” He added, “They want our resources, they want our land, they want our fisheries, they want our water, they want our Arctic, maybe they want our souls. I know the US president could use a soul.”
However, Young believes Carney is the right person to lead the country, stating, “I believe you are the person to do it. I believe you are the person our country needs to lead us through this crazy situation and bring us out the other side as a stronger, smarter, more resilient Canada, our core values of caring and fairness and generosity intact, along with our souls. Without a doubt, you’ve got the chops to get it done. And man, you have got the guts to take it on.”
He concluded: “It’s a heavy lift for sure, Mr. Carney. But I, for one, am with you all the way.”
His latest comments come after Young recently shared his fears that he’ll not be allowed back into the United States following the conclusion of his European tour this summer due to his remarks about Trump. However, he has vowed to continue using his voice to express political opinions.
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