Hello, welcome to Politics Insider, election edition. There are 33 days until voting day. Let’s look at what happened today.
The Liberal Party revoked MP Chandra Arya’s bid to run for the party leadership and his nomination in his own Ottawa riding over alleged foreign-interference concerns involving India, according to a source with top-secret clearance.
Arya took a trip to India last August and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The source said Arya had not informed the Canadian government of that trip, even though bilateral relations were in a deep freeze over accusations that Indian agents had committed murder and other violent acts in Canada.
The Liberals have never revealed why they barred the three-term MP from the party’s recent leadership race or from running again in the riding of Nepean.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to govern before holding elected office, is running in the riding instead. Voting day is April 28.
Also, the Bank of Canada considered holding interest rates steady earlier this month but proceeded with a rate cut after weighing the risk of an economic downturn against the risk of rising prices, both caused by a trade war with the United States.
Liberal MP Chandra Arya, at a press conference, in Ottawa on March 20, 2019.The Canadian Press
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On our election radar
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is campaigning today in Montreal.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference in the Quebec community of Montmagny and later held a rally in nearby Quebec City.
Green Party Co-Leader Elizabeth May was campaigning today in her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding, while Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault campaigned in the Montreal riding of Outremont, where he is a candidate.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney campaigned through the day in Southwestern Ontario with stops in Windsor, where he held a news conference, London and, finally, Kitchener, where he held a rally with local candidates.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Hamilton, held a news conference, met with seniors and ended the day with an evening campaign event in the riding of London Centre.
Question period
Canada’s first election was held in 1867. What was the turnout?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
What else is going on
Trudeau rents home in Ottawa but ultimately plans to live in Montreal: Two advisers say former prime minister Justin Trudeau moved from Rideau Cottage, on the grounds of the Governor-General’s estate, into a nearby home in the Rockcliffe neighbourhood.
Amid calls to cancel, Alberta’s Premier stands by plan to go to U.S. fundraiser: Danielle Smith is defending her plan to appear at a Florida event alongside a far-right U.S. influencer who calls Canada “a silly country.”
Poilievre pledges to allow working seniors to earn up to $34,000 tax free: A Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre would also increase to 73, from 71, the age when seniors must stop contributing to registered retirement savings plans.
Carney rejects boosting trade ties with China, points to Europe: Liberal Leader Mark Carney rejected accusations from his Conservative rival that he is beholden to Beijing and said he thinks Canada should prioritize boosting commerce with “like-minded countries” in Europe instead of China.
NDP pitches removing GST on children’s items, income tax changes: The NDP says its proposed changes recognize the costs that families face, particularly during an affordability crisis and amid the threat of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Perspectives
Which Mark Carney will voters get?
Liberal Leader Mark Carney now appears to be attempting a mirror-image of that time-tested formula by co-opting big chunks of the Conservative platform in order to blur the policy differences between himself and Pierre Poilievre.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
As we dump carbon taxes and push pipelines, remember there’s no such thing as a free lunch
Recent polls suggest that many Canadians are also prepared to reconsider policies and infrastructure that previously seemed sacred or taboo, such as carbon pricing or interprovincial pipelines for oil and gas. And Canada’s political and economic leadership have taken notice.
— Martin Olszynski is an associate professor and chair in energy, resources and sustainability at the University of Calgary. Julien O. Beaulieu is a lawyer and doctoral researcher at Imperial College London.
This is sadly typical of Canada’s broken drug-approval process – a slow, multistep approach that leaves patients and providers alike puzzled about coverage, especially for drugs and devices for rare conditions like glioblastoma.
— André Picard, Health Columnist
Go deeper
- Stay informed ahead of voting day with the latest news and updates.
- 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 turnout was 73.1 per cent, according to Elections Canada. By comparison, the turnout in the last federal election, in 2021, was 62.6 per cent. The highest-ever voter turnout, tracked by Elections Canada, was the 79.4 per cent in the 1958 election that saw John Diefenbaker lead his Progressive Conservatives from a minority government to a massive majority.