TUESDAY RECAP: Questions about NDP's relevance overshadow pitch on foreign homebuyer ban
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TUESDAY RECAP: Questions about NDP's relevance overshadow pitch on foreign homebuyer ban Back to video
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SINGH ‘NOT AT ALL’ CONCERNED ABOUT LACK OF RALLIES
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promoted the idea of a permanent ban on foreign homebuyers on Tuesday, but his visit to Metro Vancouver was overshadowed by questions about his party’s relevance in this federal election, the Vancouver Sun reports.
Reporters peppered Singh with questions about the NDP lagging far behind the Liberals and the Conservatives in the polls during a news conference in east Vancouver.
Asked if he has any concerns about holding his own seat, Singh replied: “I’m confident that I’ll be able to serve the people of Burnaby Central, and I’m also confident people in this country need New Democrats.”
As Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre draw large crowds to their events, Singh was also asked about not holding a rally in his two days in B.C. and if it was because he felt he couldn’t get people out.
“Not at all. We’re focused on events that showcase our priorities.”
MARKETS STILL REELING FROM TARIFF WAR
North American markets careened to a fourth day of losses in a dramatic turnaround from the rally that started the day as concerns over tariffs continued to mount, The Canadian Press reports.
Markets have been falling since Thursday as they reacted to Donald Trump’s sweeping round of tariffs on a wide swath of countries, with market watchers eyeing the growing possibility of a recession.
China said it would retaliate to the new duties on its goods, and Trump responded by threatening to ramp up the tariffs. On Tuesday, Trump followed through on his threat, announcing imports from the country will be taxed at 104%.
Markets had been paring back their earlier rally, and continued steadily descending into the red after the announcement.
CARNEY HAS FEW, IF ANY, CONNECTIONS TO HIS RIDING
Voters in the Ottawa riding of Nepean find themselves in an interesting situation in this federal election.
Usually, they are peripheral players, three times electing Chandra Arya, a backbench Liberal. Now, Nepean voters will have a significant say over the political trajectory of Mark Carney, Canada’s current prime minister and Liberal party leader.
Carney’s substantial support in national polls and the riding’s recent Liberal history suggest an easy win, which is exactly what any party wants for its leader, especially one who has never been elected to anything, anywhere. Losing his own riding would be an embarrassing setback.
This race is unlikely to be quite as simple as the Liberals would like. Carney is a poor demographic fit for the riding, has no meaningful connection to it, and has already made some missteps that might hurt his cause.
CARNEY: INFLUX OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS FROM U.S. ‘NOT ACCEPTABLE’
Mark Carney says a new influx of asylum-seekers arriving in Quebec from the U.S., amid a crackdown on migrants by President Donald Trump, is “not acceptable,” the Montreal Gazette reports.
Radio-Canada reported a sharp increase in asylum-seekers at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., border crossing, with 1,356 cases in March, up from 560 in January. Many of the refugee claimants are believed to be from Haiti, which is experiencing a rise in gang violence.
Carney acknowledged the sharp increase in refugee claimants. He noted that under the Safe Third-Country Agreement, Canada can send asylum-seekers back to the U.S.
Other federal party leaders also weighed in.
CARNEY’S PITCH TO BE PM RINGS HOLLOW
Mark Carney was asked some tough questions on Tuesday and he had no good answers for any of them. That goes against his sales pitch to voters that he’s the guy you need in a crisis, in a pinch, Brian Lilley writes.
The thing is the crisis can change and it often does with governments.
While governments come to power with big plans, they often end up lurching from crisis to crisis, most not of their own making. They need to be nimble, they need to be able to respond to changing circumstances quickly and Carney doesn’t appear to be able to do that.
Carney wants to talk about one thing and one thing only: Donald Trump. He sees Trump as his meal ticket to being elected as prime minister.
OUR EDITORIAL: OF COURSE CHINA WANTS CARNEY FOR PM
The only thing surprising about Beijing’s dictators wanting Liberal Leader Mark Carney to win the April 28 election is that anyone would be surprised by it, our editorial department writes.
As Conservative MP Michael Chong — an actual “target” of Chinese disinformation — put it in the wake of Canadian security and intelligence officials revealing China’s attempt to promote the prime minister’s campaign on Chinese-language social media: “(China) knows that for a decade the Liberals have turned a blind eye to Beijing’s interference in Canada’s democracy.
“They know the Liberals have stood by as Beijing interfered in our democracy, targeted and harassed our citizens and threatened Canada’s interests at home and abroad.”
Canada’s Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force (SITE) said the campaign of mostly positive coverage about Carney on Youli-Youmian, the most popular news site on the Chinese-language social-media platform WeChat, was artificially spread through an organized campaign by smaller WeChat accounts.
POILIEVRE GOES AFTER ‘GLOBAL ELITE’ IN FINAL EDMONTON STOP
It was fitting that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre made the final pit stop of his two-day Edmonton visit in a tire and car repair shop deep in the city’s southeast.
Because Poilievre was on a mission to accomplish two things; to announce a new policy that would see government get tough on the “elites” who stash cash in overseas tax havens, and to take a victory lap after Monday night’s rally in Nisku that saw more than 10,000 Tory supporters pack a warehouse.
“I think it is pretty broad,” Poilievre said of his supporters as he stood in front of reporters Tuesday morning.
Then he asked the media gallery: “When was the last time we had a rally that big in Canada?”
CONSERVATIVES PROMISE TO GO AFTER TAX CHEATS
It’s time for Canada’s wealthy elite to pay their fair share.
That was the message coming from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on the campaign trail Tuesday morning, promising to go after tax cheats who hide their money in offshore bank accounts.
During a stop in Edmonton, Poilievre said a Conservative government in Ottawa will close offshore tax loopholes, steer Canada Revenue Agency resources towards cracking down on tax havens and away from auditing small business owners and charities, and expand the Offshore Tax Informant Program that will allow whistleblowers up to 20% of recovered funds from exposing tax cheats.
CAMPAIGNS STILL RELY ON OLD-SCHOOL SIGNS TO SELL LOCAL CANDIDATES
If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
In an age where political parties have all sorts of tools at their disposal to reach voters during a election campaign, sometimes relying on tried and true old-school campaign signs gets the job done.
According to Bernard Motulsky, professor of public and social communication at Université du Québec à Montréal, physical elections signs are still essential and “pretty much the only place you can see your local candidates.”
“In the media, only the leaders will be on the front pages and on the news,” said Motulsky.
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GUNTER: CARNEY SHOWS LIBERAL IGNORANCE WITH COMMENTS ABOUT SMITH
Did Liberal Leader Mark Carney hit the trifecta?
It’s a question columnist Lorne Gunter asked after Carney made comments about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a campaign rally this past Sunday in Victoria, B.C.
In scoffing at the idea of Smith being able to help in Canada’s trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump, Carney praised Ontario Premier Doug Ford and used his full name, while referring to Smith only by her first name, “Danielle.”
“We’re sending Doug Ford on to Fox News to show them that we’re not messing around up here,” Carney said to cheering Liberals. “And we’re going to send Danielle next. Well, maybe we won’t. We won’t send Danielle. That’s a bad idea. Strike that.”
Gunter says Carney’s comments hit two Ss — sneering and smugness. But did it also hit a third S — sexist?
CROWD OVERFLOWS TO HEAR CARNEY SPEAK IN B.C.
In an airport hotel in Richmond, B.C., a crowd of 1,500 people gathered Monday night to hear Prime Minister Mark Carney speak.
“Who’s ready to stand up for Canada with me to help the Liberal party win the most consequential of elections?” said the Liberal leader, to a roar of those in attendance.
Crowds show up to hear Carney speak about the measures he’s taken since becoming Liberal leader, which include the removal of the carbon tax, tax breaks for the middle class, as well as the creation of at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, on top of 15 new urban parks.
Read more about Carney’s campaign stop here.
POILIEVRE RALLIES SUPPORTERS IN ALBERTA
It felt more like a rock festival than a political rally.
In front of a large crowd of thousands in the Leduc County industrial hamlet of Nisku, just outside of Edmonton, Alta., Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had promised his supporters to bring back Canada to where it was when Stephen Harper was prime minister.
“We left the country richer, stronger and safer,” Poilievre said of his time as a cabinet minister in the Harper government. “Ten years ago, inflation was rock bottom. So were interest rates. Taxes were falling faster than any time in our history.”
He talked about the need to build pipelines, get tough on crime, reduce taxes and get tougher on fentanyl dealers. He hit on all the campaign themes. Selling thousands of government buildings so they can be used for housing.
COUNTRY’S AUTO HEARTLAND POISED TO DECIDE ELECTION
The automobile industry in Canada, which is at the forefront of the trade war spawned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, is likely poised to decide who will lead the country after the upcoming federal election.
Ring of municipalities around Toronto have always been key to winning elections in Canada, with many voters having leaned towards the Conservative Party after weathering inflation and other frustrations under the Justin Trudeau regime. But with Trudeau gone and Trump’s tariffs threatening their livelihood, the manufacturing sector have important decisions to make.
WHERE THE PARTY LEADERS WILL BE TUESDAY
The leaders of Canada’s three major political parties will campaign on the West Coast on Tuesday.
This morning, Liberal Leader Mark Carney is expected to make an announcement in Delta. B.C., which will be followed by a visit to a New Westminster business before heading to a rally in Calgary, Alta.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will hold a press conference in Edmonton, Alta. before heading to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., for an evening rally.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is slated to make an announcement in Vancouver, B.C., before joining striking workers on a picket line and meeting with Stewart Philip, grand chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, in Burnaby, B.C., in the evening.
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