MONDAY RECAP: Carney touts Alberta oil amid chatter of western alienation
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‘BIG ADVANTAGE’ IF QUEBEC OPTS FOR ALBERTA OIL OVER U.S.
Mark Carney says he wants Quebecers to use oil from Alberta rather than the United States — but a new pipeline would require Quebec’s blessing, the Montreal Gazette reports.
“Quebec uses 350,000 on average barrels of oil a day, 70% of which comes from the U.S.,” the Liberal leader told a news conference in Victoria on Monday.
“There is a big advantage to Canada to push that out, use our own oil, use the resources from that for other things, including protecting our environments (and) our social programs.”
As for environmental assessments, which critics say have dragged on and derailed previous pipeline proposals, Carney said only one review would be required if he is elected prime minister on April 28.
SPECTRE OF SEPARATISM RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD OUT WEST
Separatism has always been therapeutic for a minority of Albertans. It’s a long-established, comfortable way to blow off anger against Ottawa, the Calgary Herald‘s Don Braid writes.
The goal is as unreal as ever, but now it’s a real factor in a national election campaign.
The latest poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute shows that 30% of Albertans would vote to separate from Canada if the Liberals win on April 28. That’s a sizable number. Some people see it and react with fury. Western traitors.
Seventy per cent is a much bigger number, though, and it’s the only one that matters. Alberta and Saskatchewan aren’t packing their bags to move any time soon, or ever. There’s never been anything close to majority support for separation in either province.
SENIORS, NATIONAL PARKS, RESOURCE PROJECTS ON LEADERS’ MINDS
The Liberal and Conservative leaders both started the third week of the federal election campaign in British Columbia — a battleground province with 43 seats up for grabs when Canadians go to the polls.
The Liberals pledged environmental conservation measures and support for seniors, while the Tories offered more efficient approvals for resource projects.
At a news conference in Victoria, Liberal Leader Mark Carney outlined a number of new conservation measures and promised to create at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as 15 new urban parks.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in Terrace, B.C., where he announced a plan to speed up approvals for major resource projects.
CHINA HAS RE-ENTERED THE FEDERAL ELECTION CHAT
China isn’t done messing with our elections or trying to keep the Liberals in power. Federal officials announced Monday that a campaign on WeChat, the Chinese social media platform, has been targeting Mark Carney, Brian Lilley writes.
Now, by targeting, it appears that they are supporting Carney based on the stories posted and promoted.
The task force said they noticed campaigns pick up steam with unusual posting and sharing patterns in the days after the election was called.
While this isn’t the first time China has interfered in a campaign this way, it is the first time officials have come out to talk about such campaigns. Being bureaucrats, they all went to pains to say they couldn’t speak to the intent of China’s actions here or the desired outcome of the campaign.
BEIJING ACCUSED OF ‘INFORMATION OPERATION’ PROMOTING CARNEY
Canada’s election security watchdog has accused the Chinese government of promoting Liberal Leader Mark Carney in what it’s calling an “information operation” taking place on Chinese-language social media, Bryan Passifiume writes.
In a Monday morning news conference, Laurie-Anne Kempton, of the Privy Council Office, said the operation is being undertaken by Youli-Youmian — the most popular news site on the WeChat social media platform.
“Intelligence reporting links the Youli-Youmian account to the PRC (People’s Republic of China) Chinese Community Party’s central political and legal affairs commission,” said Kempton during the news conference, joined by other members of the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) task force.
The operation, she said, concerns stories about Carney that amplify his stance on the United States, while also targeting his experience and credentials.
LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES, NDP FIELDING CANDIDATES IN EACH RIDING
All three major political parties will see a full slate of candidates in this month’s federal election, Bryan Passifiume writes.
Spokespeople with the Conservative, New Democratic and Liberal parties all confirmed with the Toronto Sun that they’ll have candidates contesting each of the 343 ridings up for grabs in the April 28 election.
In his home riding of Carleton, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will have at least 78 other candidates on the ballot thanks to an ongoing election protest by the Longest Ballot Committee.
Committee spokesperson Tomas Szuchewycz told the Toronto Sun they had also planned to run candidates in Nepean — the riding being contested by Liberal Leader Mark Carney — but weren’t able to due to tight deadlines and poor weather.
CARNEY ‘DOES NOT GIVE A DAMN’ ABOUT QUEBEC, SAYS BLOC LEADER
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says Liberal Leader Mark Carney “doesn’t like” Quebecers and will not protect the province’s culture, language or economy, in what’s seen as his harshest criticism of the current prime minister.
Blanchet, who has seen his lead in Quebec disappear since Carney entered the political realm, ramped up his attack on the Liberals, urging Quebecers to return to the Bloc fold on April 28 to prevent a majority government that would ignore Quebecers.
CONSERVATIVES PROMISE ‘ONE AND DONE’ RESOURCE PROJECT APPROVALS
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his government would fast-track much-needed resource projects.
During a campaign stop in Terrace, B.C. on Monday, Poilievre promised to revitalize Canada’s natural resources industry by streamlining project approvals — which has become an onerous process under the past decade of Liberal government.
He also said Canada was exporting 98% of the country’s energy and natural resources to the United States at big discounts, which puts our nation at Donald Trump’s mercy.
Bryan Passifiume has more here.
POILIEVRE HAS SOME COMPETITION IN CARLETON RIDING
It looks like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has a lot of competition in his home riding of Carleton.
As of Monday, within hours of the deadline to register for the federal election, dozens of candidates were added to the ballot. Fifty-one candidates were added over the weekend, likely as part of an election protest.
The group Longest Ballot Committee has claimed responsibility for the large number of candidate registrations.
WHERE THE LEADERS WILL BE ON MONDAY
Entering their third week on the campaign trail, party leaders will be on the road this Monday.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney will be in British Columbia, where he will first have a meeting with Premier David Eby and later hold a rally in Richmond with local candidates.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will wrap up a campaign sweep on the West Coast before flying to Edmonton for a rally.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is in Toronto, where he will make an announcement.
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