Party Leaders Make Final Pitches as Vancouver Tragedy Casts Shadow Over Election Campaign

(L–R) Liberal Leader Mark Carney, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick, Justin Tang, Jacques Boissinot

A mass casualty attack in Vancouver on Saturday night, April 26, altered the plans of several federal party leaders, who had intended to meet with supporters in multiple cities on Sunday during the final stretch of their campaigns before election day on April 28.

At least 11 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a man drove a car into a crowd during a street festival in Vancouver, where the Filipino community was holding its Lapu Lapu Day Block Party on April 26, according to the Vancouver Police Department at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

At a Sunday morning news conference, interim Vancouver police chief Steve Rai said it was the “darkest day in the city’s history.”

Speaking at a rally in Oakville, Ont., on Sunday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asked supporters to take a moment to acknowledge the attack, which police said took place Saturday night at 8:14 p.m. local time near Fraser Street and East 43rd Avenue.

“I ask you to say a little prayer for all of those who are without a loved one today, or who may have lost their lives themselves. We unite as Canadians in honouring all of them, and we take inspiration from the lives that they lived.”

Poilievre also offered his condolences earlier in the morning at a media event in Mississauga, Ont., saying he knows Canadians are “shocked, heartbroken, and saddened by this senseless act of violence.”

Other federal party leaders have likewise offered their condolences early on Sunday.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney changed the scheduling of his April 27 campaign events following news of the incident. He held a news conference in Hamilton, Ont., to address the attack before heading for a campaign event in Saskatoon.

A Liberal rally scheduled for Calgary and another in Richmond, B.C., have also been cancelled. A Liberal rally planned for Edmonton will now be smaller in size.

“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, father, son, or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s nightmare,” said Carney in Hamilton. “And to them and to the many others who were injured, to the Filipino-Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver, I would like to offer my deepest condolences.”

Carney followed up with a social media post later in the day that he had spoken to B.C. Premier David Eby.

“The Vancouver Police Department and municipal and provincial officials have the full support of the federal government as they conduct their investigations,” Carney said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh similarly had multiple campaign stops planned for Vancouver, New Westminster, and Coquitlam, B.C. He was also expected to visit the Vaisakhi parade in Oliver, B.C., to celebrate the Sikh holiday. Those campaign events have been cancelled.

Singh is scheduled to visit St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver on Sunday, where a Filipino church service is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. local time.

Speaking in Penticton, B.C. on Sunday afternoon, Singh was moved to tears as he vowed never to “let hate win.”

“We honour those we lost, not by giving into fear, but by living in their spirit, by building a Canada where no one is treated as disposable,” Singh told reporters.

‘Great Canadian Promise’

At the rally in Oakville, Poilievre vowed to restore the “Great Canadian Promise.” He urged supporters to vote for the Conservatives to address affordability issues, including housing and food costs, and to ensure safe streets. He said the role of an elected official is to serve the public.

“Minister means servant. Prime minister means first servant, and it will be an honour to serve all of you to deliver the change you deserve,” the Tory leader told supporters at the campaign event.

Poilievre also paid tribute to “the people who came before us” and said it was due to the promise they built for all Canadians that made it possible for him and many in the room to have the opportunities they had, which he said must be restored. After the “lost Liberal decade,” he said, the nation has seen “rising crime, chaos, drugs, and disorder.”

“We will restore our freedoms, repeal censorship, honour the people who came before us, end cancel culture. We will put up new statues, rather than tearing down old statues, because we’re proud to be Canadian. We love this country and we’re grateful to the people who came before us.”

Poilievre reiterated his promise to oversee “100 Days of change” should his party form government. His plan is to pass three bills: the Affordability–For a Change Act, the Safe Streets–For a Change Act, and the Bring Home Jobs–For a Change Act. He said these bills must be passed before politicians can go on summer vacation.

The Conservatives’ costed platform, released on April 22, includes over a dozen measures to address affordability issues. The Tories pledge to cut the lowest income tax rate by 15 percent, lowering it from 15 percent to 12.75 percent. They will remove the GST sales tax on new homes under $1.3 million, scrap the entire federal carbon tax, remove the capital gains tax hike, and get rid of taxes on investment proceeds that are reinvested in Canada until the end of 2026.

To keep the streets safe, Poilievre said his government will repeal the Liberals’ Bill C-75, which he calls the “catch-and-release” bail law. Bill C-75 made changes to bail provisions in the Criminal Code, giving direction to judges to first consider releasing the accused at the “earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions that are appropriate in the circumstances.”

“We will repeal house arrest and make it so that serious offenders serve their sentences behind bars and rather than in their living room,” he said, adding he would also repeal Bill C-83, which he said is responsible for getting serial killers and rapists such as Paul Bernado out of maximum security prisons.

“We will pass [a] ‘three strikes, you’re out’ law. Three offences and you go away for at least 10 years—no bail, parole, probation, or house arrest.”

Poilievre also said he will boost the construction and production of Canadian energy, which he noted will create high-paying jobs and give people the ability to buy homes.

Health Care

Speaking to reporters in Penticton, B.C., Singh said it was because of those who voted for the NDP that Canada now has programs such as dental care and pharmacare. As per his comments in previous campaigns, he said he is concerned that a Carney government would cut services and transfers to the provinces, which includes those related to health care.

“[Carney] has said that he’s going to cut $28 billion in services,” Singh said. “So that really opens all those things up to cuts, and it will be very dangerous at a time when we want to strengthen those things.”

Singh repeated his commitment to include mental health care as part of Canada’s public health-care system. “It should be fundamentally connected,” he said.

The NDP leader also said he would make “no apologies” for how federal parties can work together, implying the supply-and-confidence agreement his party had with the previous Liberal government under Justin Trudeau, which made it possible to “deliver dental care to millions of people” and “pharmacare for millions of people.”

‘Come Together’

Speaking at a rally in Edmonton on Sunday evening, Carney said he would expand the federal dental care to 8 million Canadians if elected. At the same time, he said his government would “make major investments” in health care, particularly mental health and drug addictions treatment. According to Carney’s costed platform, the Liberals plan to spend $4 billion to build and renovate community health-care infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities to improve access to health care in Canada.

Repeating his key lines, Carney framed his campaign as one that could best stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump and his slew of tariffs. The Liberal leader said the United States has “ruptured the global economy” and upended its “old relationship” with Canada. He said in order to respond to the United States effectively, “we need a strong, positive government.”

“I need your help tomorrow,” Carney told supporters. “Tomorrow, unconditional.”

Touching on the issue of Canada’s economy, Carney said Canadians need to “come together to fight, to protect and to build,” including implementing counter tariffs to the United States, which the Liberal government has done so.

“What we’re doing with the money from our counter tariffs, we are taking every dollar, every cent, and we are giving it back to the workers and the businesses that are most affected.”

The Liberal leader reiterated his commitment to remove all federal trade barriers by July 1, Canada Day.

The Canadian Press and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.