Liberal Leader Mark Carney delivers remarks at Marmen Inc., a steel fabrication and machining company, during his Liberal Party election campaign tour in Trois-Rivieres, Que., on April 22.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Liberal Leader Mark Carney on Tuesday toured a handful of ridings where the party is fighting to defeat the Bloc Québécois, urging voters to elect MPs who he says can be more influential in Ottawa by sitting on the government side of the House of Commons.
Quebec is shaping up as a key battleground that could hold significant sway in the outcome of Monday’s federal election, with polls showing that the Liberals are poised to make gains in a province holding 78 seats.
Election snapshot: What happened on Day 31 of the campaign
On Tuesday, Mr. Carney had breakfast with Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchand before the two walked through the Old City with area incumbent Liberal candidates Jean-Yves Duclos and Joël Lightbound.
The Liberal Leader then headed west for a news conference in Trois-Rivières, a riding where his party appears to be in a three-way race with the Conservatives and the Bloc incumbent.
Mr. Carney spoke at Marmen Inc., a parts manufacturing facility that he said is currently working on submarines. He said it is the type of work that can be expanded through his party’s plan to boost defence spending in a way that favours Canadian jobs.
When asked about his message to voters who are considering the Bloc, he said Quebec benefits by having people in government who can influence major decisions.
While not naming the Bloc, Mr. Carney said the next government will be directly responsible for negotiating trade issues with U.S. President Donald Trump. He said a Liberal government would protect Quebec priorities in those talks, such as supply management, as well as French language and culture.
“The issue is having as strong a mandate as possible for those negotiations. Only the federal government can make those protections in these negotiations,” Mr. Carney said.
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party released a costed platform Tuesday that included a section focused on Quebec, with pledges to protect cultural programs and to give the province the power to select temporary immigrants.
He had previously outlined those plans in a campaign speech in Quebec City.
Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said it is clear from the Conservative and Liberal platforms that only his party is in sync with Quebec values.
He said the Conservative plan would bring in Republican-style spending cuts, while dismissing the Liberal Leader as out of step with the province on issues such as language laws, immigration and climate change.
“Mr. Carney proposes actions that are hostile to the Quebec identity,” Mr. Blanchet said during a campaign stop in Quebec City.
The Liberal Leader’s afternoon involved a stop at Chez Ben, a Granby fast-food canteen that specializes in poutine, to support Liberal candidate Félix Dionne’s effort to unseat the Bloc in the riding of Shefford.
Mr. Carney had another quick visit to a window and door company in the Bloc-held riding of Mont-Saint-Bruno-L’Acadie, south of Montreal, where the Bloc is running a new candidate, Noémie Rouillard. The Liberal candidate is Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba.
Wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey, the Liberal Leader also addressed an evening rally in Laval in support of several area candidates. Party officials said about 1,800 people attended.
Political science professor Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, said the “Trump effect” is helping the Liberals in Quebec and elsewhere, while creating challenges for the Bloc.
He said the Bloc is playing defence in the province, while the Conservatives do not appear to be making inroads.
“Quebec is hardly an homogeneous province and, although the Liberals are likely to make gains come April 28, it’s still unclear whether something like a ‘red wave’ could sweep the province,” Prof. Béland said in an e-mail.
The latest Nanos Research public opinion data for The Globe and CTV News show the Liberals ahead in Quebec with 39-per-cent support, followed by the Bloc at 26 per cent and the Conservatives at 24 per cent. The NDP is at 6 per cent.
Nationally, the Liberals are in front with 43 per cent, followed by the Conservatives at 37 per cent and the NDP at 10 per cent.
The national survey of 1,200 adults is based on a three-day rolling sample of 400 individuals, ending Monday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The margin of error for Quebec only is 5.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Provincial breakdowns have a higher margin of error because they involve a smaller sample of respondents.
With a report from The Canadian Press
In the Nanos poll, respondents were asked: “For those parties you would consider voting for federally, could you please rank your top two current local preferences?” The full methodology for all surveys can be found at: tgam.ca/polls.