Mark Carney on Sunday called a snap election for April 28, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Reuters
With the federal election campaign officially under way, the party leaders staked out ground on Sunday over which of them is the most capable of protecting the country’s sovereignty and economy from Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats.
As widely expected, Governor-General Mary Simon dissolved Parliament early Sunday afternoon and called a five-week campaign at the request of Prime Minister Mark Carney, with the vote to be held on April 28. The battle is likely to be shaped by Canadians’ fear and anxiety about the U.S. President’s America First agenda.
Mr. Trump has frustrated his trading partners with his on-and-off-again tariff threats. He has said that global reciprocal tariffs, including on Canada, will come into effect April 2. This could add to the 25-per-cent levy he imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum two weeks ago.
“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetime because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,” Mr. Carney, the first Prime Minister never to have held elective office, told reporters after leaving Rideau Hall. “Our response must be to build a strong economy and a more secure Canada.”
The surge in Canadian nationalism stemming from the President’s trade moves and rhetoric has bolstered the Liberals’ chances, with polls showing the governing party now in a dead heat with the Conservatives – a change from two months ago when the Pierre Poilievre-led party was ahead by double digits.
Pierre Poilievre kicks off Conservative election campaign under shadow of Trump’s trade war
Both Mr. Carney and Mr. Poilievre began immediately to advance competing ideas for fending off the President’s tariffs and annexation rhetoric, and diversifying the Canadian economy away from the United States. Mr. Carney is looking at targeted measures for people affected by the tariffs while the Conservative Leader is advocating large-scale tax cuts to spur economic growth.
“The best way to counter Donald Trump is to support our own country and put Canada first,” Mr. Poilievre said at his campaign launch in Gatineau, Que. “We will stare down this unprovoked threat with steely resolve.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh joined in the chorus, vowing to “fight like hell” against Mr. Trump’s economic war. But he argued that his main political opponents are more interested in helping the wealthy and big corporations than workers affected by tariffs.
Mr. Carney, he said, has spent his “whole career serving the interests of billionaires, of shareholders and CEOs,” while Mr. Poilievre’s “only solution is tax breaks for the wealthy.”
Canada's 45th general election is underway, with federal leaders vying to become the next prime minister each positioning themselves as best to strengthen the country's economy
The Canadian Press
The newly elected Liberal Leader said he will not sit down with Mr. Trump, whom Mr. Carney accused of wanting to “break us so America can own us,” until he stops talking about making Canada the 51st state.
Mr. Poilievre took a slightly different tack, saying he’ll be respectful toward the U.S. President since he is going to be in the Oval Office for the next four years.
“You can be respectful and firm,” Mr. Poilievre said. “I will insist the President recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist he stop tariffing our nation.”
Mr. Poilievre sidestepped media questions about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who had urged Republicans to “put things on pause” on tariffs and annexation talk during the Canadian election because it benefited the Carney-led Liberals.
Mark Carney defends launching election campaign, with more U.S. tariffs expected
“Well, my response is that the President has said it would be easier to deal with the Liberals and with good reason – the Liberals have weakened our country,” Mr. Poilievre said.
While the Conservative Leader has long made the argument that the Liberals have left Canada broken, he used his maiden campaign speech to acknowledge that Mr. Trump’s actions are also taking a toll on Canadians.
“I know a lot of people are worried, angry and anxious, and with good reason, as a result of the President’s unacceptable threats against our country,” he said. “I share your anger and I share the worry for our future, but I also draw great resolve in knowing that we can transform the anxiety and anger into action.”
On Sunday’s campaign launch, Mr. Carney, a former central banker in both Canada and Britain, presented himself as pro-business and action-oriented while accusing his Conservative rival of being divisive and angry.
“Negativity won’t win a trade war. Negativity won’t pay the rent or mortgage,” he said, adding that Mr. Poilievre uses similar language to Mr. Trump and advocated cuts to foreign aid – just like the American President.
Mr. Carney made his first campaign promises: A re-elected Liberal government would cut the tax rate on the lowest income bracket by 1 percentage point, which could benefit two-income families by up to $825 a year.
He also promised to recall Parliament immediately after the election to pass legislation to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade by July 1.
Mr. Carney has already reduced the consumer carbon levy to zero, cancelled a planned hike in capital-gains taxes, and pledged to get Canadian energy to global markets and develop new trade corridors away from the United States.
Mr. Poilievre urged Canadians not to give the Liberals a fourth mandate, blaming them for blocked energy projects, high housing and grocery costs, high immigration and failure to be tough on crime.
“After a lost Liberal decade, the question is: Can Canadians afford a fourth Liberal term?” he said.
Mr. Poilievre promised to cut the sales tax on new homes, slash red tape for developers, cap immigration, boost defence spending and build more mines, pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities to get Canadian energy at world prices to Asia and Europe.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said the U.S. President is not only creating fear but seems to enjoy it. He argued, however, that the issue in the campaign is not about who will deal with the Trump threats, but what they will do about it.
He contended that much of the discourse so far has been about Ontario cars or Ontario steel or oil from the West. “At some point in this campaign … we’ll have to talk about Quebec businesses, Quebec workers, Quebec seniors.”
The Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Bloc have their planes and buses ready, and war rooms up and running. The Conservatives are the only party that won’t allow journalists to travel with their leader on the campaign plane and buses.
The parties are competing with a new electoral map and a higher number of ridings to win. Ontario and B.C. have each gained a seat, and Alberta has gained three since the past vote. Numerous ridings have been reshaped to take into account population shifts, for a total of 343 seats, up from 338.
Still, the key battlegrounds are expected to remain the most populous regions of the country – the areas around Toronto and Vancouver, in particular.
Both have been difficult for the Conservatives in recent campaigns, and Mr. Poilievre has spent dozens of weekends since he won the leadership in both areas trying to push up his party’s support, with a particular focus on ethnocultural communities.
He’s also tried to sway traditional union and blue-collar-worker support for the New Democrats.
The campaign will be a test of Mr. Singh’s leadership of the NDP. In 2019, the party lost 15 seats with him at the helm and only picked up one new one in the 2021 vote. He then entered a supply-and-confidence arrangement with the minority Liberals.
Jagmeet Singh says NDP is best positioned to champion Canadians through trade war
On Sunday, Mr. Singh said the deal led to more protections for workers, as well as dental and pharmacare programs. Polls, however, show that this hasn’t translated into additional support.
The NDP, however, see Mr. Carney’s efforts to pull the Liberals back to the centre as an opening to regain support from progressive voters.
For the Bloc, the landscape has also shifted since Mr. Carney’s arrival on the scene. Last year, the party was riding on the coattails of a resurgence of Quebec nationalist sentiment.
But the pro-Canadian fervour that’s sweeping Canada in response to Mr. Trump’s threats has landed in Quebec as well, and the Liberals’ recent bump in the polls has come at the Bloc’s expense.
The Green Party heads into this election with a new format: co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault will both play key roles.
Mr. Pedneault said it was a “shame” to see Mr. Carney cancel the consumer carbon levy when climate change remains a pressing issue.
The People’s Party of Canada, led by former Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier, won nearly 5 per cent of the vote in the 2021 campaign, though current polls suggest its support is between 2 and 3 per cent. Mr. Bernier is again trying to win a seat in his former riding of Beauce.
Send us your questions about the federal election
Between a trade war, threats of annexation and a rookie Liberal Leader, it’s shaping up to be a historic election. Globe and Mail journalists are covering every twist and turn of the campaign from across the country, and we want to know what questions you have. Wondering how to vote, which party has the best platform on a certain issue, or what different results could mean for Canada? Ask us your questions in the form below or email us at audience@globeandmail.com. with “Election question” in the subject line.