The election campaign comes while Canada finds itself embroiled in a historic trade war with the United States
The election campaign comes while Canada finds itself embroiled in a historic trade war with the United States
The election campaign comes while Canada finds itself embroiled in a historic trade war with the United States
OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised a one per cent cut to the lowest income tax bracket and “big change” after a decade of Liberal reign moments after requesting Governor General Mary Simon dissolve Parliament, sending Canadians to the polls on April 28.
In a speech outside Rideau Hall, the governor general’s residence, Carney said he was seeking a “strong, positive mandate from my fellow Canadians.”
Carney kicked off the campaign with his party’s first promise: a middle-class tax cut that would cut the lowest income tax bracket by one percentage point. The current rate is 15 per cent on the first $57,375 of taxable income.
Carney said the move would save the average two-income family about $825.
“I am asking for a strong, positive mandate to deal with President (Donald) Trump and to build a new Canadian economy that works for everyone,” he said.
Carney, whose party is seeking a fourth consecutive mandate, also said Canada needed “big change, positive change.” He argued that what he had done in nine days as prime minister showed he was breaking with former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s legacy.
“You’ve seen a change in approach and action. It’s not words, but action,” he said, pointing to his income tax change proposal, his trip to Europe last week to shore up the relationship with allies and a promise on Friday to drop barriers to the flow of energy and trade within Canada.
Carney is dissolving the federal government he took over under two weeks ago after winning the Liberal leadership race to succeed Trudeau. The election campaign comes while Canada finds itself embroiled in a historic trade war with the United States.
A few dozen curious observers stood behind stanchions about 100 meters away from Carney to watch the prime minister address the press after meeting with the governor general. One woman told National Post she was there to “watch history.”
Asked by reporters why he was dissolving Parliament amid the economic conflict with the U.S., Carney said the government needs a vote of confidence from Canadians in how they want to deal with Trump.
“What’s important is that the government has a mandate from the Canadian people to finish the job, to finish the job of building that Canadian economy, to finish the job of diversifying our trading partners, and to have a strong mandate to stand up to Donald Trump and the Americans and negotiate the best deal for Canadians,” he said.
Carney has promised to reduce government spending which skyrocketed during Trudeau’s tenure, but frequently declined to detail Sunday where his government might cut.
He noted that government spending had increased by nine per cent on average during Trudeau’s tenure and that he would reduce the level of spending growth.
Speaking to reporters, Carney criticized Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s leadership style as “negative” and divisive.
He also called Poilievre a “Canadian Trump” and argued it was “easy” to compare the Conservatives to Trump’s politics because their words and actions are “uncannily familiar.”
“You look at the language, the language mirrors, and the track record of language stretches back over years,” he said of the Conservatives and Trump.
“Secondly, from the intention. Elon Musk stands up and… the Trump administration eliminates foreign aid. Within a few days, Pierre Poilievre flies in-and-out of Nunavut and says, ‘I’m going to eliminate foreign aid’,” he added.
In February, Poilievre promised to cut foreign aid to fund a new military base, additional defence personnel in the Canadian Arctic and the construction of more icebreakers.
“All of these improvements will be funded by dramatically cutting foreign aid, a lot of which goes to dictators, terrorists and global bureaucracies,” he said at the time.
On the other side of the Ottawa River at the Museum of History, Poilievre distanced himself from the U.S. administration during his first campaign press conference.
“I will insist the president recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist that he stop tariffing our nation,” he said.
On immigration, Carney promised to maintain current targets set by the Liberals “or something similar” until there is an increased housing supply. “There’s not a predetermined point where one would remove or adjust those caps,” he noted.
Last fall, then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller slashed the number of immigrants Canada would accept in 2025 from 485,000 to 395,000 after years of constant growth. The levels are expected to continue decreasing to 365,000 in 2027.
Canadians will also be heading to the polls in the midst of an extraordinary polling turnaround for the Liberal party, which has clawed its way back into the lead over the Conservatives, according to polling by Leger for the National Post. Poilievre was polling comfortably ahead of the Liberals by more than 20 percentage points until the resignation of Trudeau in early January and Trump made good on his threat to slap tariffs on Canadian goods heading south of the border.
Pollsters warn, though, that public opinion is in flux, partially due to the unstable global environment and because voters say they don’t know much about Carney yet.
Carney will be seeking election in the Ottawa area riding of Nepean, the party announced Saturday night.
Sunday is the eve of the day Parliament was set to return from prorogation that was requested by Trudeau when he announced his resignation. An election means Parliament is dissolved and will not sit again until a new government is formed.
National Post
cnardi@postmedia.com
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