Politics

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promised to strike down a key element of the Liberal government’s environmental policy Friday as he and other party leaders got back on the campaign trail following the national leaders’ debates in Montreal. The campaigning Friday also coincided with the opening of the first of four days of advance polling across the country.Both Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh stayed in Quebec to make announcements Friday morning, while Liberal Leader Mark Carney made his way to Niagara Falls, Ont.Carney used the border city as a backdrop for further comments about how U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs have changed Canada’s relationship with its closest neighbour — once again framing the election around an issue that helped rejuvenate Liberal support.“...

The Liberal party released a late-stage election platform Saturday that pledges billions in new spending and charts a major change in priorities from the party’s direction in 2021 under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Liberal Leader Mark Carney released his platform after the only two debates of the campaign concluded, and a day after advanced voting began.It also lands in the middle of a stop-and-go trade war with the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner, and shows the path Carney is trying to chart toward reducing Canada’s reliance on the U.S. and increasing trade and economic activity at home.“It’s time to build again, big time,” he said, surrounded by dozens of supporters at Durham College in Whitby, Ont.He was also flanked by Quebec Liberal candidate and current Finan...

The federal NDP are pledging tax reforms, mental-health coverage and more homebuilders in their costed electoral platform, as well as a promised wealth tax on the “super rich” which it says could raise upwards of $22 billion each year. The platform calls for a net increase of $48 billion to the federal deficit over four years, a tally that already builds in large offsets from that anticipated tax revenue from the rich.“No nurse, no teacher, no tradesperson should pay more than a billionaire flipping stocks,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said at an event in Burnaby, B.C.He says Canada must defend values like health care instead of following U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead of chipping away at public services.“We won’t let Trump’s trade war become your burden to carry,” he said. Story ...

By Craig Lord and Brenna Owen The Canadian Press Posted April 19, 2025 1:56 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a change in laws to allow judges to order drug treatment for those struggling with addiction. Poilievre is in Richmond, B.C. on Saturday expanding on his plans to tackle addiction in Canada.His idea would give judges the option to order mandatory drug treatment as a substitute for incarceration.The proposal would apply to offenders whose only crimes are connected to possessing small quantities of drugs and other non-violent infractio...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted April 19, 2025 12:54 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The Liberals and NDP released their costed campaign platforms Saturday, with just over one week left in the election campaign. Liberal Leader Mark Carney rolled out the party’s campaign commitments in Whitby, Ont., one of several battleground ridings in the seat-rich Greater Toronto Area.The platform pledges billions in new spending and charts a major change in priorities from the party’s 2021 platform under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.The 65-page document shows a reversal in the proportion of o...

Liberal Leader Mark Carney spent his first English election debate presenting himself as a safe pair of hands for a country in crisis — while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sought to frame him as more of the same after a decade of Liberal government. Carney, who is leading in the polls, became the main target of all his rivals’ attacks early in Thursday’s final debate of the election — a trend that carried over from Wednesday’s French language debate.Poilievre repeatedly sought to draw a straight line from former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his policies to Carney, arguing he contributed to the “lost Liberal decade” by providing confidential advice to Trudeau on the economy.“We need a change and you, sir, are not a change,” Poilievre said in one exchange.At another point, Poilie...

Naiwen Cao plans to wear a red T-shirt with a Maple Leaf on election day. The 31-year-old says he’s feeling particularly patriotic for the April 28 federal vote, because it will be his first time casting a ballot — not just as a new Canadian — but ever.“I’m very excited to vote,” said Cao, who immigrated to Calgary from China in 2021. He got his Canadian citizenship in January.“I came from China. You never vote there. I don’t consider it free will.”He’s still figuring out which candidate in his riding best addresses the issues he cares about.Canada’s trade war with the United States has taken over much of the election campaign, but Cao said he’s more curious about how the parties plan to fix the immigration system to ensure newcomers are set up for success. Story continues below ad...

An ongoing trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s hunger for critical minerals have brought Canada’s rich mineral deposits into the spotlight, with federal and provincial politicians promising to accelerate natural resource projects. Interest in the country’s critical minerals surged after Trump started musing about annexing Canada, experts say, and grew as the president’s global trade war intensified.“This is now a domestic conversation about how we treat natural resources or natural resource development projects here in Canada,” said Elizabeth Steyn, a mining and finance law expert at the University of Calgary.A key element of that conversation is northern Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire, a region spanning roughly 5,000 kilometres where vast reserves of nickel, chromite, zinc, p...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Talk of the western provinces separating from the rest of Canada is a “tired trope” that needs to stop, British Columbia Premier David Eby says. Eby told a news conference Thursday he doesn’t think there’s any credible threat to Canadian unity and accused people like former Reform Party leader Preston Manning of “seeking clicks and playing to a political base” that is disavowed by the vast majority of Canadians.“It is a tired trope. It is a waste of time, and it is an attack on the unity that we have right now as a country standing up to the Trump administration, for political, partisan gains,” Eby said, referring to Canada’s ongoing tariff fight with U.S. President Donald Trump.“I hate it...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted April 18, 2025 12:42 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to end the federal single-use plastic ban on items like straws and grocery bags if his party is elected. Poilievre campaigned in Montreal Friday morning, as he and other federal leaders returned to the campaign trail following the two national leaders’ debates Wednesday and Thursday.Liberal Leader Mark Carney is campaigning in Hamilton later in the day, while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is also holding an event in Quebec.Poilievre says he would repeal the ba...