The candidates seeking to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau debated the best ways to face U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as well as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during the Feb. 25 English-language debate in Montreal.
The debate saw cabinet Minister Karina Gould take more shots at other candidates compared to the previous night’s French-language debate, while former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland took a veiled jab at front-runner Mark Carney, a former central banker.
But similar to the previous night’s debate, the candidates mostly focused their attacks on Trump, who has threatened 25 percent tariffs on Canada and repeatedly talked about his desire to make Canada the 51st U.S. state. The candidates also launched attacks against Poilievre, who will face off against the party in the next federal election.
Carney, the current frontrunner in the race, described the threat of Trump’s tariffs as one of the “most serious crises” Canada has ever faced.
“Who is the worst person to stand up to Donald Trump? Pierre Poilievre,” Carney said. For their part, the Conservatives say they’re the right party to deal with the Trump presidency, saying that Carney will be the same as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
To face the threat of tariffs, Carney said Canada needed to build up its alliances with other countries, leveraging its critical minerals and energy as negotiating tools, while also building up the economy.
Freeland agreed with Carney that Trump posed the “gravest challenge” Canada has faced since the Second World War. “Trump is starting with us for a very simple reason. If you can show the world that you can beat up on Canada—your best friend, your reliable, trustworthy neighbour—then think about how the rest of the world feels. It is the demonstration effect. It is saying, if I can beat up on those guys, imagine what I can do to you,” Freeland said.
While Freeland said she would impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs on the United States, she said this should be done in a strategic manner. She vowed to impose 100 percent tariffs on Teslas in a blow to Trump’s ally Elon Musk, and to target Wisconsin dairy products and Florida orange juice, two states that were important for Trump’s electoral victory.
Freeland also said she would bring together the countries he had targeted in recent weeks—Mexico, Panama, and Denmark—and the European Union and Asian allies for a summit to deal with U.S. aggression.
Gould targeted Carney’s comments about which sectors he would protect and keep off of tariff negotiations. During the French-language debate on Feb. 24, Carney had talked about ensuring that there’d be no compromise on Canada’s supply management, which is important to Quebec. During the Feb. 25 English-language debate, he didn’t mention supply management in that context, instead focusing on the auto sector, which is primarily focused in Ontario.
“I think what is really important is to understand which sectors you’re willing to protect but which sectors you would negotiate away,” Gould said.
Carney responded: “In a negotiation, if there are things that should never enter into the negotiation—language, culture, our water—you make clear at the start of the negotiation that they are off the table,” Carney said. “Second thing is that the other aspects, for example, our auto sector ... we’re going to negotiate around maintaining a good deal for our auto sector.”
Gould also criticized Carney for his commitment to get Canada’s military spending to the NATO target of 2 percent of GDP by 2030, saying, “We don’t have time to wait for this.” Freeland also said she believed Canada needed to hit the target by 2027.
Carney responded that the spending target would be met sooner than 2030 if it was feasible to do so. “[It’s] not just pushing money out the door,” he said.
Former Liberal MP and businessman Frank Baylis portrayed Trump’s tariff threats as a way to gain a “win on the border,” as Trump has previously tied the imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico to them taking action to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
The Economy
To respond to Trump’s tariff threat, Carney also proposed taking down interprovincial trade barriers, reasoning that “if we have one Canadian economy instead of 13, that more than outweighs the impact of what [Trump’s] trying to do.”Freeland agreed that interprovincial barriers needed to be brought down to make Canada’s economy stronger, and said Trump was giving Canada a “golden opportunity” to fix issues around productivity.
During the segment, Carney also said Canada’s economic growth over the last five years had been driven by an increase in the labour force due to immigration, as well as government spending growing at twice the rate of the economy.
“Our economy was weak before we got to the point of these threats from President Trump. That’s why we need big changes,” Carney said.
Freeland, who served as Trudeau’s finance minister, said Liberals need to be sure not to repeat “Conservative talking points” about Canada being “broken,” which Poilievre has mentioned when criticizing the Trudeau government policies. She highlighted that Canada is in a strong fiscal position with a triple-A credit rating and the lowest deficit in the G7.
Gould said that as prime minister she would focus on increasing productivity, protecting supply management, and supporting Canadians through “potentially one of the greatest economic shocks our country has experienced” with programs similar to those implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gould talked about modernizing Canada’s social safety net and “opening a path” toward a guaranteed basic income.
Baylis said that as a former businessman who “brought a company from two people to 1,000,” he knew how to increase Canada’s productivity and make intelligent investments. Baylis said he had opposed the Liberal government’s capital gains tax increase introduced in 2024, as it would discourage investment.
Housing and Energy
To make housing more affordable, Carney said Canada needs to double the rate of home-building through a combination of modular homes, increasing the number of tradespeople, cutting fees for developers, and “supercharging” the Liberal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund.Freeland said her housing plan involves cutting taxes for first-time home buyers and increasing the amount Canadians can put into the First Home Savings Account, which she highlighted she introduced during her time as finance minister.
Gould also pledged to create an “industrial housing strategy” focused on modular homes and co-op housing, as well as increasing the First Time Home Buyers incentive.
On the issue of the carbon tax, Carney reiterated that he would end the consumer carbon tax because it has become “too divisive” among Canadians. He has proposed replacing it with a system that would make big industry polluters pay and reward Canadians for making greener choices.
Carney, who was previously the United Nations special envoy for climate action, also criticized Poilievre’s signature “Axe the Tax” policy, saying the leader was not focused on the Canada Carbon Rebate cheques disappearing, or about businesses “becoming more competitive.” The Conservatives in turn say Carney has supported carbon taxes all along, and that his plan to put more cost on big businesses for pollution will drive out investment and cost jobs.
Freeland said the Liberals needed to show “leadership” by listening to the majority of Canadians who no longer want a carbon tax, but said a Poilievre government would “dismantle all of the excellent work we have done on climate.”
Freeland proposed doubling down on climate policy incentives she put in place while in her role as finance minister, such as the Canada Growth Fund, which provides tax credits to help with the transition to a less carbon-intensive economy.
Freeland said Canada’s position as an “energy superpower” made it well-positioned to deal with Trump’s tariff threats, and said the country needed to focus on exporting those products to new markets. Gould agreed, saying Canada needed to have a conversation about “securing our energy future” through increased exports.
Gould also criticized Carney’s plan to get rid of the consumer carbon tax, saying low-income Canadians were better off under the plan because of the rebates. “The math just doesn’t add up,” she said.
Carney’s Lead
Carney has been leading the other candidates in fundraising, with financial data released by Elections Canada showing he has raised $1.9 million, compared to $236,000 for Gould, $227,000 for Baylis, and $227,000 for Freeland.The Liberal leadership race also saw the rejection of two candidates.
Voting for Liberal Party members will begin on Feb. 26 and the new leader will be announced on March 9. With Parliament set to return from prorogation on March 24, there is a possibility of an early election through either a successful non-confidence motion supported by opposition parties or the Liberal leader choosing to dissolve Parliament.
