Minutes after asking Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and trigger an election for April 28, Liberal Leader Mark Carney launched his campaign outside Rideau Hall in Ottawa on March 23.
Carney made a new policy announcement during his speech, saying he would reduce the lowest-income tax bracket by 1 percent.
His remarks were strongly focused on the Trump administration, saying the U.S. president is threatening Canada’s sovereignty and that he is seeking a “strong, positive” mandate to deal with Trump.
He also took indirect shots at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has been criticizing the Liberal government’s tenure, with Carney saying “negativity won’t make Canada strong.”
Carney said the people of his generation had more opportunities and life was more affordable for them compared to the younger generation. He said his career has informed him on how the world works, and that he can use that for the benefit of Canada in his plans to deal with the current challenges the country is faced with.
He also mentioned the $6 billion purchase agreement his government made for Australian radar technology to boost Arctic security, and said he has agreed with France and the UK to increase their engagement with Canada on security issues.
Carney noted that his government scrapped the increase in the capital gains inclusion rate of the Trudeau government, and said he removed the carbon tax for consumers to “end the division” it had created. He has previously said he will instead put the price for carbon on the “big polluters.”
He also mentioned his pledge to remove interprovincial trade barriers, and that he will use the proceeds of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the United States to help Canadian workers.
The following is the text of Carney’s March 23 campaign speech.
Two months ago, I was at a rink in Edmonton where I'd learned to play hockey. That’s about as far as you can get from the grandeur of Rideau Hall. And I was there because I was putting up my hand to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. And I was doing that because I knew our country needed to take action. We needed to act to fix our economy. We needed to act to fight the Americans. We needed to act to deal with Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Nine days ago, our new government was sworn in immediately, and we immediately decided to act. This week, we reached a new agreement on national defence with Australia to protect Canada.
We strengthened our security relationship with France and the United Kingdom to protect Canadians. We launched discussions on a new trade agreement with the European Union to provide more assistance to Canadian businesses.
We eliminated the tax on carbon for consumers for small businesses and for farmers, to end the division that it was creating amongst Canadians, because we are stronger together.
We reversed the increase in the capital gains tax so that builders are encouraged to take risks and be rewarded when they succeed.
When I met with the premiers in Ottawa on Friday, we agreed to eliminate barriers to trade and mobility inside our country and the federal government is leading by committing to legislate the end of all federal barriers to interprovincial trade by July 1. Together, we will push to create one Canadian economy by Canada Day, because we are stronger together.
This past week, we acted to protect workers using the proceeds of our retaliatory tariffs against America’s unjustified trade actions.
We acted to unlock major infrastructure projects and get them moving rapidly, including clean and conventional energy, critical minerals, and new trade corridors with reliable trading partners.
We acted to create new supports for farmers and businesses during this trade war. We expanded dental care for millions of more Canadians, and we took all of these actions and more to create the foundation to build a stronger Canada.
There is so much more to do to secure Canada, to invest in Canada, to build Canada, to unite Canada. That’s why I’m asking for a strong, positive mandate from my fellow Canadians.
I’ve just requested that the governor general dissolve Parliament and call an election for April 28. She has agreed.
We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty. Our response must be to build a strong economy and a more secure Canada.
President Trump claims that Canada isn’t a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us. We will not let that happen. We’re over the shock of the betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves. We have to look out for each other.
We know that we must look after each other. We know that we cannot control the U.S. president, but we can control our own destiny. We are masters in our own home. We can control our destiny.
We can have a new Canada built by us, for us. We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can take away. And the best way we can deal with this crisis is to build our strength here at home, and help people who will be hit hardest by these tariffs. That’s the right thing to do, that’s the fair thing to do, that’s the Canadian thing to do. That’s what makes us strong.
As part of that strategy, today, I’m proposing a middle-class tax cut to help all working Canadians get ahead. We will cut the lowest income tax bracket by one percentage point for a middle-class tax cut that will benefit a two-income family by up to $825 a year.
I am proposing a middle-class tax cut that will help all Canadian workers. We will reduce the lowest tax bracket by 1 percent. This tax reduction for the middle class will make it possible to give back $825 in revenue to a family.
I am asking Canadians for a strong, positive mandate to deal with President Trump and to build a new Canadian economy that works for everyone, because I know we need change, big change, positive change.
You see, my generation was fortunate. For us, there were more opportunities and life was more affordable. You had to work hard, but you could get ahead. That was the bargain, but for the generations that have followed, they’re working just as hard, or even harder than we did, but they’re struggling to pay the rent, to put groceries on the table, and to save for their kids’ educations.
I spent all my career understanding how the world works and how it can work better for us, to allow us to benefit the most. That has been our priority these last nine days, and that will always be the priority of our new government.
The challenge is significant, but I want all Canadians to understand that we have everything we need to succeed right here in Canada, if we have the right plan and if we work together. Because building a strong Canada helps everyone, and we will have to show leadership.
It’s easy to be negative about everything when you’ve never fixed anything. It’s easy to be negative about everything when you’ve never built anything, when you’ve never had to make a payroll. But negative slogans aren’t solutions. Anger isn’t action. Division isn’t strength. Negativity won’t win a trade war. Negativity won’t pay the rent or the mortgage. Negativity won’t bring down the prices of groceries, and negativity won’t make Canada strong.
We have seen what negativity and division have led to in United States. We are stronger when we are united. We will not allow ourselves to be weaker, so let us unite in this time of crisis.
I love Canada. Our country has given me everything. I stood up in Edmonton two months ago, and I’m standing here today because I want to give it all back to Canada, so that every Canadian kid, whether they’re growing up in Nanaimo or Montreal or St. John or Scarborough or Inuvik, has the same opportunities that I had, the same hope, the same confidence in a brighter future.
It’s time for all of us to come together and be strong.
So I’m asking for your vote so we can be Canada Strong.
Long live Canada.
