During the April 17 English-language debate, incumbent Liberal Leader Mark Carney was the main target of the other party leaders, although NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh especially targeted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre with multiple debate interruptions.
Poilievre had a major focus on the issue of pipelines and energy projects throughout the debate. He also added that Canada needed to become more competitive by lowering taxes and removing red tape.
From early on in the debate, he criticized the Liberal government’s Impact Assessment Act, which puts on regulatory requirements for major projects such as pipelines, and which Tories say in effect leads to cancellation of such projects due to the regulatory burden.
“It takes now 17 years to get a major project approved in this country. That is why, in the last 10 years, we’ve had the worst economic growth in the entire G7,” Poilievre said.
He also took a shot at Carney for not committing to remove the industrial carbon tax, saying as U.S. President Donald Trump applies a tax in the form of tariffs on Canadian products, Carney is also planning to tax Canadian production.
When asked by the host about his climate change policies, Poilievre put the focus on the need for Canada to develop its energy resources so that lack of production in Canada isn’t offset by more production elsewhere with higher emissions.
“The reality is that if we push production out of our country to more polluting countries, it actually makes the problem worse,” he said.
Carney touted his decision to remove the consumer carbon tax, saying that it had become divisive, and that he has agreed with the premiers and First Nations to develop energy corridors. He added that he is proposing a “one project, one review” to remove redundancies in regulatory reviews and streamline major projects.
Similar to the French-language debate, Carney said that Trump’s presidency and policies have put Canada in a “crisis,” and that he knows how to manage the crisis. He said Canada is also faced with other crises, including cost-of-living and housing.
He said he would prioritize identifying projects and investments of national interest “that are really going to move the dial in terms of growth, jobs, energy security, well-being consistent with long-term competitiveness, which necessarily means lower carbon.”
“Part of that process is ensuring that First Nations, indigenous peoples are there from the start,” he added.
Throughout the debate, Poilievre attempted to show that Carney’s Liberal leadership is the continuation of Trudeau Liberals, saying that he was an economic adviser to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and that the Liberals brought in inflation with their policies.
“After the last decade, half of which time you’ve been Justin Trudeau’s economic adviser, our economy is weaker than ever before,” Poilievre said.
Carney said that he is a different person than Trudeau, and that he realizes that it must be “difficult” for Poilievre to campaign now that he has removed the consumer carbon tax and that Trudeau is no longer prime minister.
“You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax, and they’re both gone,” Carney said.
Poilievre shot back that Carney has the same policies as Trudeau, to which Carney said, “We’re very different.”
Carney Says China ‘Biggest Security Threat,’ Poilievre Says China Interfered With Elections
During a segment about public safety, Carney said he believes the “biggest security threat” facing Canada is China.
During a later segment, he said he is also concerned with threats from Iran and Russia, as well as “the United States, which is fundamentally changing its security relationships and commercial relationships.”
Poilievre brought up the issue of China’s interference with Canadian elections when responding to a question by Carney about his refusal to get a security clearance.
All party leaders except Poilievre agreed. Poilievre has said that his chief of staff has the clearance and can read the report, but if he agrees to the clearance, as part of the agreement he would in effect be “gagged” and not be able to do his job as the leader of the Official Opposition to hold the government to account.
During the debate, he noted that former NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has also agreed with Poilievre’s position on this. Carney said that other party leaders who got the clearance have been able to still talk about the issue.
Poilievre said that Canada has been the subject of interference by China in the 2019 and 2021 elections, and that he wanted to be able to freely talk about that. As well, he criticized Carney for not removing a Liberal candidate who suggested that his Conservative rival —a Hong Kong democracy activist—be taken to the Chinese consulate to collect a bounty.
Carney had condemned the words of the candidate, Paul Chiang, but had said that Chiang had apologized and that he wouldn’t remove him. Chiang eventually resigned on March 31, on the same day that the RCMP said it was looking into his comments.
“I was able to speak freely on that matter because I refused the gag order that the Liberal government attempted to impose on me,” Poilievre said.
Singh Takes Aim at Poilievre
Throughout the debate, Singh took relatively more aim at the Conservative leader than the incumbent prime minister, often interrupting Poilievre as he was attempting to deliver his talking points.
Singh has been touting his party’s role in creating the dental care and pharmacare programs through the NDP–Liberal supply-and-confidence agreement.
He also said he’s gotten a new agreement through the course of the debates from Carney to end oil and gas “subsidies.” The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says the sector isn’t getting any subsidies, and that it’s just getting “tax measures” like other sectors.
At one point in the debate, Singh appeared to allude that the formation of the government after the election would be the same as the current one, with the Liberals in power and the NDP asking for certain programs via agreements.
Blanchet Asks for Meeting
During the debate, Blanchet, who has been referring to Canada and Quebec as “partners” in the face of U.S. tariffs and other challenges, asked if Carney would be willing to meet with all party leaders after the election to “start dealing with these crisis together.”
Carney initially said he looked forward to meeting everyone, and while laughing told the host, Steve Paikin, that he is “welcome to come” as well. Blanchet appeared to be upset that Carney was not taking his comment seriously, saying Carney was not being “respectful.”
Carney said he was coming to the point, and that during a crisis, there is a need for a team.
“You need to bring the country along with you, so what I did in the first week [as prime minister] was to bring the premiers together, meet with all the indigenous leaders, and move forward in that context,” Carney said.
He added that whoever wins the election needs to work with all the provinces, labour representatives, and indigenous leaders.
Blanchet said that he had put in multiple requests to speak with Carney, but that “you have not spoken to me once.”
Scrums Cancelled after Media Clash
There were multiple confrontations of journalists, which eventually led to the post-debate media scrums of the leaders being cancelled.This included Rebel Media president Ezra Levant approaching the CBC Power & Politics team to present his side of the issue after the CBC News journalists made comments about him on air, as well as a Hill Times reporter and Levant having a verbal exchange in the media room.
During the 2021 election, the Leaders’ Debates Commission was ordered by a court to allow Rebel News and several other media to take part in questioning the leaders, after the government-formed body initially refused their entry.
Some media, such as CBC Power & Politics, criticized media such as Rebel News being able to ask questions of the leaders during this election.
Michel Cormier, the executive director of the Leaders’ Debates Commission, told reporters at the end of the April 17 debate that the organizers decided to cancel the scrums because they could not “guarantee a proper environment” for questions. He didn’t provide further details.
