Hello, welcome to Politics Insider, election edition. There are 19 days until voting day. Let’s look at what happened today.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is pausing “reciprocal tariffs” for 90 days on countries that have not retaliated against the United States, sending stock markets sharply higher, but is increasing tariffs on China, which announced steep retaliatory tariffs today on U.S. imports.
The S&P 500 jumped nearly 7 per cent after Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, partly reversing the sharp selloff that followed his announcement of sweeping tariffs last Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Bill Curry reports that the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP are using the Parliamentary Budget Officer to help cost out their election promises, but none have promised to release their full platforms before next week’s leaders’ debates.
The 2025 election campaign is the third to operate under a legislative change that expanded the role of the arm’s-length PBO to include costing specific election promises.
Also, the U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Pete Hoekstra as the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.
“As Ambassador to Canada, I will work with the Canadian government to review and strengthen our strong trading partnership, secure our borders, confront the deadly threat of fentanyl to our citizens, and build our national security cooperation,” Hoekstra said in a statement.
Trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit on April 2.JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images
Elsewhere on the campaign trail
Poilievre vows ‘three strikes you’re out’ policy to clamp down on repeat offenders: The federal Conservative Leader said today that the new crime policy would keep Canada safe. He criticized the Liberals for what he called a soft-on-crime approach.
Mark Carney vows to make Canada an energy superpower, proposes faster project reviews: In Calgary today, the federal Liberal Leader promised a federal project office with a new mandate to conduct one review per energy project and issue a decision within two years instead of five.
Singh promises full pharmacare within four years, starting with ‘common’ medications: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says an NDP government would start the pharmacare expansion with “100 of the most prescribed medications,” including pain medications and antibiotics.
Wayne Gretzky says he has ‘no political power’ over the president or prime minister: “Trust me, I have no political power with the prime minister or the president. That’s between those two guys, and that’s why you hold elections,” the retired NHL great said in his first public comments since the U.S. President began talking about making Canada the 51st state.
Canada’s 1970s superhero Captain Canuck has resurgence amid Trump’s annexation threats: “All of a sudden Canadians are looking to Captain Canuck as a symbol. And it’s basically, to them, Captain Canuck symbolizes independence,” said Richard Comely, 74, the artist who co-created the comic book character.
On our election radar
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is campaigning in the Montreal area with stops that include a news conference at McGill University on the promotion and protection of French.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference in Sault Ste. Marie to announce justice-reform measures and was scheduled to hold an evening rally in the Toronto-area city of Brampton.
Green Party Co-Leader Elizabeth May is in Ottawa with Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault. May was scheduled to travel to Montreal to catch a train to Moncton.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney is in Alberta and Saskatchewan. He made an announcement and took media questions in Calgary, then met with young supporters and volunteers. In Saskatoon, he was scheduled to meet with community members and deliver remarks.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh talked about pharmacare at a Vancouver news conference and later spoke at the First Nations Summit. This evening he was scheduled to hold a campaign event in Saskatoon.
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?” The full methodology for all surveys can be found at: tgam.ca/polls.
Campaign quote
“I don’t jump to a baseball rule of three strikes and you’re out.” - Liberal Leader Mark Carney at a news conference in Calgary today, commenting on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s vow to introduce a “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” policy to clamp down on repeat offenders.
Question period
Here’s one approach to boosting voter turnout: Voting in federal elections in Australia is mandatory, with a fine of 20 Australian dollars – about $17 Canadian – for voters who do not comply. What was the turnout in the last Australian federal election, in 2022?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Why the Tories are still wrong on foreign aid
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s musings last year about slashing foreign aid were misguided. But today, his continued disparagement of foreign aid is even more problematic.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Poilievre moves on to Plan C and brings out the guns
It’s certainly reasonable for the Conservative Leader to attack Mr. Carney’s economic ideas, of course, but the problem he faces in attacking his experience is that Mr. Carney has real posts as governor of two central banks on his résumé, and Mr. Poilievre has nothing like it.
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer
If you’re going to threaten to secede, you might at least have the numbers to back it up
It had the form of an opinion piece in The Globe and Mail. It had the substance of a ransom note. If the country were to return the Liberals to power under Mark Carney, Mr. Manning wrote, it would lead directly to the secession of Western Canada.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
Go deeper
- Stay informed ahead of voting day with the latest 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 total turnout was 89.8 per cent, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. There’s a backgrounder here on the policy.