MONTREAL (National Times): The leaders of Canada’s four main political parties will square off for a second and final leaders’ debate tonight in Montreal, after an initial French-language faceoff on Wednesday. Liberal Leader Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and the Bloc Québécois’ Yves-François Blanchet will meet onstage for a final time before the April 28 vote, after a first debate that saw them spar on pipelines, the economy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Carney is leading in the polls and was the frequent target of attacks from his rivals yesterday. Poilievre accused Carney throughout the evening of being just like his Liberal predecessor Justin Trudeau, and promised to reverse Liberal economic policies he said had halted resource development and weakened the country. Carney noted several times that he’d only been prime minister for a month, and said that in that time he’d already reached an agreement with Canada’s premiers to work on developing a national energy corridor and removing trade barriers.
The leaders were challenged by moderator Patrice Roy on why they haven’t yet presented costed platforms and were asked how they would pay for tax cuts and other spending promises.
In this debate Liberal Leader Mark Carney was a frequent target, to which he responded: “I just got here.”
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet accuses Carney of offering a “Harry Potter” budget by promising savings along with a tax cut. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre gave an emphatic “yes” when asked if he would boost oil production. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused the moderator of unfairly shutting down his attempts to discuss health care.
