6 Takeaways From Parties’ Election Campaign Launches

Voters enter a polling station for voting in the 2021 federal election in Oshawa, Ont., on Sept. 20, 2021. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

Besides response to U.S. tariffs and attacks on rival parties, there are several other notable items from the campaigns of the major political parties ahead of the April 28 election.

First Policy Announcements About Tax Cuts

The first policy announcement made by both the Liberals and the Conservatives on the campaign trail was about tax cuts.

In his remarks after asking the governor general to dissolve Parliament and call an election on March 23, Liberal Leader Mark Carney said he would reduce the lowest-income tax bracket by 1 percent, saying it would benefit a two-income family by up to $825 a year. He called it a “middle-class tax cut.”

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre on March 24 said he would decrease the tax rate in the lowest income tax bracket by 2.25 percent, reducing it from 15 percent to 12.75 percent. The Tories said the tax cut would benefit “the average worker” by bringing in savings of $1,800 per year for a two-income family.

Liberals’ Carney Says Current Generation Has It Worse

Liberal Leader Mark Carney gets a hug from Beulah Cooper as he arrives at her house in Gander, N.L., on March 24, 2025. Cooper housed passengers and assisted with the community efforts during 9/11 and is featured in the musical Come From Away. The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn

Similar to Poilievre, Carney mentioned in his March 23 speech that the current generation has it worse compared to people of his generation, saying despite working hard, food and shelter is much less affordable for younger people.

However, unlike Poilievre’s explicit pledge to “restore” the situation, Carney said he knows how the world works thanks to his career path, and can use his experience to the benefit of Canada to meet the present challenges, saying “everything we need to succeed” is right here in the country.

Despite having the role of U.N. Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance prior to entering politics, writing the 2021 book “Value(s)” which is focused on efforts to meet net-zero goals, and listing “A New Climate Plan” as one of his five key policies during the Liberal leadership race, Carney so far hasn’t talked about climate change policies in the general election campaign.

Prior to the official launch of the campaign on March 23, he said that while he will remove the unpopular consumer carbon tax, he will put the costs for carbon on the “big polluters,” and rejected Alberta’s demands to remove the Liberal government’s emissions cap for the oil and gas sector.

He has also said he’s in favour of building pipelines while supporting the Liberal government’s Impact Assessment Act, and has said he supports the development of both “conventional” and “clean energy.”

Carney has alluded that in the nine days he was prime minister before triggering an election, he took major action to make changes compared to the Trudeau government, including boosting Arctic security, building a “security relationship” with France and the UK, scrapping the Trudeau government’s increase in the capital gains tax, taking steps to remove internal trade barriers, and agreeing with provinces to “unlock” major infrastructure endeavours, including energy and minerals projects.

But when talking about the support programs of the Trudeau government, he has used terms such as “our government.”

This includes when talking about the $10-a-day child care, the dental care program—which he is expanding—and the pharmacare program, saying they are meant to help the middle class. He has also said he will expand support programs for workers impacted by the tariffs, and that he will divert the additional revenues from Canada’s retaliatory tariffs to help impacted workers and businesses.

When asked how he intends to keep the budget deficit low with the tax cuts while maintaining the support programs, Carney said his new ministry of government transformation will be focused on increasing government efficiency and productivity, including with the use of AI. He also said that in the “last several years,” government spending has gone up by around 9 percent each year, and that by reducing that, the government will be able to free up some funding.

Carney added that his government would be spending “scarce taxpayer dollars” to “catalyze huge private investment,” including on the development of “clean and conventional energy,” setting up new trade corridors, and bringing down the cost of new homes.

Tories’ Poilievre Changes Some Messaging

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is joined by his wife Anaida Poilievre and children as he talks with employees at Kruger Packaging during a federal election campaign event in Brampton, Ont., on March 24, 2025. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Poilievre has kept the key part of his pre-Carney campaign messaging, which is to restore “Canada’s promise.” He says this is defined by when people work hard, they can get a “nice house on a safe street, protected by brave troops under a proud flag.”

But he has changed some of his other key messaging. Aside from switching his party’s criticism from Trudeau to Carney, he has also dropped his “Axe the Tax” slogan targeting the Liberals’ carbon tax policy. He’s now focusing on the Liberals’ industrial carbon tax in his speeches, given that Carney suspended the consumer carbon tax.

He has also changed his interaction with reporters with outlets he has called biased on previous occasions. During his March 23 press conference, he greeted each reporter, and didn’t dismiss the premise of their questions when they made general statements, as he has done in the past.

A March 23 Abacus Data survey—one of the few polls showing the Conservatives slightly ahead of the Liberals, while most others show the Liberals having the edge—shows positive impressions of Carney at 40 percent and negative impressions at 28 percent. The same poll shows positive impressions of Poilievre at 37 percent and negative impressions at 45 percent.

Poilievre is also putting more emphasis on energy and industry development in the face of U.S. tariffs, saying that by cutting taxes—including the industrial carbon tax—Canada can become more competitive and attract more investment. As well, by removing the cap on oil and gas emissions, removing the Impact Assessment Act to allow for the building of cross-country pipelines, and using his policy of pre-approved sites for construction, the country can better unleash its energy and industry-building potential, he says.

He has also emphasized increased defence development, as U.S. President Donald Trump has put pressure on NATO members to increase defence spending. Poilievre says his government would purchase new fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, and build a new military base in the Arctic.

Poilievre has also been talking more about the immigration issue, saying the Liberals allowed “uncontrolled immigration,” and criticizing Carney for bringing on Mark Wiseman, a co-founder of Century Initiative, to his advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations. The Century Initiative, a lobby group, has called for an increase to Canada’s immigration levels, bringing the country’s population to 100 million by the end of the century. Carney, who has said he intends to scale back immigration to pre-pandemic levels, has said Wiseman won’t be advising him on immigration issues.

Poilievre has also kept his message about the need for bringing housing costs down by working with different jurisdictions and tying federal dollars to developments, and the need for more public safety by tightening the laws.

The Conservative leader has also kept his focus on attracting support from the working class, pledging support programs for training and apprenticeship opportunities in the trades, and announcing endorsement from unions.

Poilievre didn’t mention debt or balanced budgets in his March 23 speech, and his party has stayed away from criticizing support programs such as the dental program. Poilievre emphasized the need for balance budgets in a speech in February.

When asked how he would compensate for the loss of revenue resulting from his promised income tax cut on March 24, Poilievre said he would cut spending in bureaucracy, outside contracting, and foreign aid.

NDP Focused on Class Struggle

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reacts with NDP candidate Nima Machouf as he attends a campaign event with supporters during a federal election campaign stop in Montreal on March 24, 2025. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s message has been that the Liberals and the Conservatives are looking after the interests of the rich and big corporations, and that it’s the NDP that will look out for the interests of everyday Canadians.

Singh says his party has brought in health care and union bargaining power, and that under his leadership and the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals, his party pushed for the government to bring in the dental care and pharmacare programs.

On the campaign trail, Singh said his party would unlock public land to allow building rent-controlled homes.

Bloc the Only One Citing Foreign Policy

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet speaks at a news conference in Montreal on March 23, 2025. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

As is typical in most elections, parties haven’t made foreign policy a front-and-centre issue (besides U.S. tariffs, that is). But Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet was the only major party leader to cite foreign policy on March 23, saying he takes issue with the Trump administration’s policies on Gaza and Ukraine.

Blanchet says his party will ensure Quebec’s interests are represented in the response to the U.S. tariffs when it comes to issues such as supply management.

He also said Trump’s remarks about “51st state” shouldn’t be used as a fear factor in Canada to take advantage of “people’s insecurity.”

Greens Hopeful for More Seats; PPC Leader Wants to Take Part in Debates

Green Party Co-leaders Elizabeth May (C) and Jonathan Pedneault, (2nd-L) introduce their candidates as they launch their election campaign in Montreal on March 23, 2025. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

File photo of People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier (R). The Canadian Press/Fred Thornhill

The Green Party, which had two seats in the House of Commons before the dissolution of Parliament, says it expects to win more seats.

Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault says to improve housing and ensure everyone can be fed and to “protect our land,” there is need for “courage” to tax the ultra-rich, “stop giving subsidies to the largest corporations,” and “rebuild what has been torn down.”

People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier, meanwhile, says his party is the only one offering polices that are “very different,” saying PPC policies such as ending supply management and balancing the budget are important for the future of the country.

Bernier also said he will fight to be included in the televised leaders’ debates.