Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Liberal Leader Mark Carney, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet participate in the English-language leaders’ debate in Montreal, on April 17.ADRIAN WYLD/AFP/Getty Images
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was the main target in Thursday’s English-language leaders’ debate, as his three rivals took their last opportunity before election day to confront him directly over his plans to control the cost of living and combat Donald Trump’s trade war.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tried to equate Mr. Carney with Justin Trudeau, accusing him of wanting to block pipelines – a move he said would leave Canada at the mercy of the U.S. – as well as being soft on crime and offering failed housing policies.
“Mark Carney is asking for a fourth Liberal term repeating exactly the same Liberal promises that priced you out of the house.” Mr. Poilievre said. “We need a change.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet joined in the gang-up on the Liberal Leader, who remained calm as he argued that he has different policies and a different style than his predecessor.
The political landscape has shifted considerably since Mr. Trudeau’s resignation and the return of Mr. Trump to the White House. The new Liberal Leader’s reputation as two-time central banker in Canada and Britain has allowed the party to somewhat distance itself from Mr. Trudeau.
The Poilievre-led Conservatives held a double-digit advantage over the Liberals for more than a year and a half. Those poll numbers have now evaporated.
Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney participate in the English-language federal leaders' debate.Adrian Wyld/Reuters
Many public-opinion polls over the past few weeks have indicated that the Liberals, with Mr. Carney at the helm, have about a five-percentage-point lead over the Conservatives. Polls also suggest that the Liberal Leader, a first-time politician, is considered the best choice for prime minister over Mr. Poilievre, a veteran parliamentarian.
Pollster Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos Research, said Mr. Carney held his own and denied Mr. Poilievre the knockout punch he needed in the final sprint to the April 28 election.
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“This was really the last chance for Pierre Poilievre to directly try to change the trend line. There was no major game changer in the debate to make people rethink who they are supporting,” he said.
Mr. Poilievre now has an uphill battle ahead of him against the Liberals, because there are relatively few undecided voters and there is less likelihood of vote splitting that would normally benefit the Conservatives, Mr. Nanos said.
“Somehow Poilievre has to hope that there is some kind of major blunder or revelation relating to Mark Carney. I don’t think a policy platform will turn things around because people aren’t voting based on platform. They are voting on who is best to manage the risks related to Donald Trump.”
Mr. Carney argued during the debate that the country is in a crisis from the Trump trade war and Canada needs energy projects to get its oil and natural resources to global markets. He promised to quickly tear down interprovincial trade barriers and fast-track the development of mines and critical minerals.
“It may be difficult for Mr. Poilievre. You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax and they are both gone,” Mr. Carney said. “I am a very different person than Justin Trudeau. I am focused on results.”
Mr. Blanchet countered with a zinger, saying that Mr. Carney has played down pipelines in messages to Quebec voters. “Mr. Carney, you are becoming a real Canadian leader, saying one thing in French and another in English.”
Jagmeet Singh speaks in the English-language federal leaders' debate.Adrian Wyld/Reuters
Mr. Singh jumped in, seeking to portray Mr. Carney as a Bay Street man who won’t cut the GST on groceries but cancelled an increase in the capital-gains tax.
“Why do you think that giving capital-gains tax breaks for people earning more than $1-million is a good thing,” Mr. Singh said.
But the NDP Leader, whose party is low in the polls, also turned his guns on Mr. Poilievre, holding him accountable for the record of the past Conservative government on border security and housing.
Mr. Poilievre was put on the defensive over his tough-on-crime policies, lack of climate plan and recent pledge to invoke the notwithstanding clause to keep mass murderers in prison indefinitely.
Mr. Carney said Mr. Poilievre’s promise to use the notwithstanding clause is a risk.
“The issue in using [it] by the federal government is not where you start but where will you stop?”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Liberal Leader Mark Carney and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh addressed crime and public safety at the leaders’ debate on Thursday. Mr. Poilievre said he would use the notwithstanding clause to ensure mass murderers spend life in jail. Mr. Carney said it was a "dangerous slope" to override court judgments and fundamental rights.
The Globe and Mail
Unlike in Wednesday’s French-language debate, Mr. Carney often pushed back against attacks from his competitors. When Mr. Poilievre accused him of having Trudeau staffers writing his talking points for the debate, Mr. Carney quickly replied, “I do my own talking points. Thank you very much.”
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Mr. Carney, who has campaigned on his track record running the Bank of Canada during the 2008 recession and then the Bank of England as that country was preparing to exit the European Union, had that record repeatedly challenged.
“You say that you are a great crisis manager. Which one?” said Mr. Blanchet. “Nothing as far as I know: Brexit happened, even if you were against it.”
Mr. Carney shot back that, as governor of both banks, he kept inflation under control. “That is the kind of success that I can do here,” he said.
Pierre Poilievre speaks during the English-language federal leaders' debate.CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV/AFP/Getty Images
Mr. Carney’s time as chair of the board of Brookfield Asset Management, a large investment company, was also under scrutiny. Mr. Singh accused Mr. Carney of being in his job for Canada’s ultrarich and not for everyday workers, and Mr. Blanchet demanded that he reveal his financial holdings accrued while working for Brookfield, as well as account for the company’s investments in fossil fuels.
Since the leadership race, the Liberal Leader has been pressed on his holdings and whether they place him in a conflict of interest. He has put them in a blind trust, meaning he no longer directly controls them, but he has never said what they are.
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Mr. Carney said he has always acted with integrity in his business dealings, and said Brookfield was a Canadian success story and many Canadians benefit from the investments it has made in infrastructure and renewable power.
Later in the debate, Mr. Carney tried to turn the tables against Mr. Poilievre in particular, by pushing him on the question of why he has yet to get his security clearance – something that would allow him to be fully briefed on threats such as foreign interference.
Mr. Poilievre reiterated his position that the clearance’s requirements would have prevented him from speaking publicly on some topics and then pushed right back at Mr. Carney, referencing a Liberal candidate who had suggested a Conservative be handed to the Chinese police in exchange for a bounty. That candidate, Paul Chiang, later stepped down.
Yves-François Blanchet speaks during the English-language federal leaders' debate.Adrian Wyld/Reuters
The two-hour English-language debate was expected to draw a large audience and was organized around the themes of cost of living, energy and climate, leading in a crisis, public safety and security, and tariffs and threats to Canada.
Mr. Carney escaped unscathed in Wednesday’s French-language debate, as he and his competitors sparred over the Trump trade war, pipelines and immigration.
Mr. Nanos said there were no winners in the French-language debate, which should benefit Mr. Carney, whose French is not as good as that of his rivals. (During the Liberal leadership debate, his French was under evident strain.)
“He didn’t mess up. He didn’t create an attack ad or a clippable moment that could be used by the Bloc or the Conservatives,” Mr. Nanos said.
After Thursday’s debate, Mr. Carney will head to the Greater Toronto Area, while Mr. Poilievre and Mr. Singh will be campaigning in British Columbia before swinging back to vote-rich Ontario.
The three men campaigned in Quebec this week, mixing policy announcements with hours of debate preparation.
The Liberals and Conservatives are expected to release their fully costed platforms over the coming days to underpin the arguments that they made during the debates. On Friday, advance voting begins, a crucial period when parties seek to lock in support.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Liberal Leader Mark Carney put forward their plans for increasing housing affordability at the leaders’ debate on Thursday.
The Globe and Mail
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