Hello, welcome to Politics Insider, election edition. There are 14 days until voting day. Let’s look at what happened today.
Doug Ford says the federal Conservatives would be in a better position if his own campaign manager were in charge, defending Kory Teneycke’s criticism of Pierre Poilievre’s election strategy.
The Ontario Premier spoke out in support of Teneycke, who has accused Poilievre’s team of committing “campaign malpractice” by blowing an almost 25-point lead earlier this year.
Laura Stone and Jeff Gray report that Ford today called Teneycke the best campaign manager in Canada.
“And to be very frank, if Kory was running that campaign, I don’t think Mr. Poilievre would be in the position he’s in right now,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park.
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Mark Carney was dealing with controversy over campaign tactics employed by a pair of party operatives.
During a campaign appearance in Montreal, ahead of two leaders’ debates in the city this week, Carney faced questions about Liberal operatives who reportedly planted Trump-style buttons at a conservative networking conference.
“I’ve made it absolutely clear to my campaign that this behaviour, anything approximating it or in that spirit, is unacceptable and cannot happen again,” Carney said.
As Emily Haws reports, the two operatives have been “reassigned” within the Liberal campaign.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to reporters at Queen’s Park in Toronto, on April 3, 2025.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
Elsewhere on the campaign trail
Poilievre pledges to use notwithstanding clause to allow longer sentences for mass murderers: Mr. Poilievre said he would reintroduce the Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act. It allowed judges to add together parole waiting periods of 25 years for people convicted of multiple murders.
Singh pitches NDP health care plan, promises to hire 35,000 nurses by 2030: Appearing today at an election event in Toronto, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also promised to ensure safe working conditions for nurses and an appropriate ratio between nurses and patients.
Daughter of late Conservative MP running for the Liberals in Calgary: Priti Obhrai-Martin, who grew up running campaigns for the Tory blue, now acknowledges that while she has crossed over to run in Liberal red, she remains in harmony with the ideals she learned on the knee of her dad, Deepak Obhrai.
LGBTQ+ groups ask federal parties to defend human rights, access to transgender care: “It’s important that leaders from all parties speak up for the rights of trans folks and queer folks,” says Fae Johnstone, head of the advocacy group Queer Momentum.
Local candidates look to defeat federal party leaders in neighbouring ridings: Two local candidates are hoping to beat the Liberal and Conservative party leaders on their home turf – two ridings which just happen to be next door to each other in Ottawa’s west end.
On our election radar
- Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is in Quebec City. He did a morning interview on Radio-Canada, met privately with France’s consul-general in Quebec City, held a news conference on crime and justice policy and had a chamber-of-commerce interview.
- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference in Montreal.
- Green Party co leader Elizabeth May, in Victoria, attended an all-candidates meeting, as well as an evening fundraising event. Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault held a news conference on climate action in Montreal and campaigned in the city’s Outremont riding, where he is a candidate.
- Liberal Leader Mark Carney made an announcement in the Montreal suburb of Dorval and took media questions.
- NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh appeared on a pair of morning TV shows and made an announcement after.
Poll tracker
The poll by Nanos Research, conducted for The Globe and Mail and CTV, surveyed 1,150 Canadians from April 8. It has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Respondents were asked: “For those parties you would consider voting for federally, could you please rank your top two current local preferences?” For the full methodology, go to tgam.ca/polls
Campaign quote
“I don’t want to imagine what damages could be done to Quebec economy, to Quebec language, to Quebec values, to Quebec immigration, to Quebec environment if we were to give a majority government to any of those two guys” - Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet during a news conference in Quebec City today, referring to federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney.
Question period
This week will see a pair of televised debates, held in Montreal, featuring the leaders of the major federal parties. One, on Wednesday, will be in French. A second, on Thursday, will be in English. The first such leaders’ debate was held in 1968 but was not entirely in French. When was the first full French-language debate held?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Why the Green Party doesn’t belong in the debates
As for this week’s debates, the commission says it cannot retroactively revoke change criteria. Fine – but the commission does still exercise final approval of the format and production of the debate. It should use that power to ensure that the Greens’ allotted time is commensurate with the size of their slate.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board.
Carney passes the Quebec quiz and Poilievre shows his smiling side on Tout le monde en parle
Both leaders received a more deferential treatment than the lively grilling some politicians have undergone on the show. And unlike many of the show’s guests, they didn’t stay on set at the same time to drink a glass of wine and chat with others, because, in the words of Mr. Lepage, that wouldn’t work.
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer
Canada, don’t get carried away with rah-rah economic nationalism
President Trump’s tariff madness rightly provokes angry responses from Canadian governments, but those impulses are badly misdirected when they target fellow Canadians working for U.S. firms, signal to American investors they are unwelcome and create government procurement policies that open doors to political cronyism that runs contrary to the public interest.
— John Turley-Ewart is a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail, a regulatory compliance consultant and a Canadian banking historian.
Go deeper
- Stay informed ahead of voting day with the latest updates.
- The Decibel: The Globe and Mail’s podcast today features an interview with Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault.
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Like a long read? Check out the fall of Justin Trudeau and the making of Pierre Poilievre
- Take a look at the history of immigration reporting and great political scandals from A Nation’s Paper, a book about The Globe and Mail’s role in Canadian history
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: The first French-language debate was held in July, 1984, amid the election campaign that saw Brian Mulroney lead his Progressive Conservatives to winning 211 of 282 seats. It featured Liberal leader John Turner, NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and Mulroney.