OTTAWA — The main federal parties campaigned in the Montreal area Tuesday, with the Liberals pitching a new training benefit for mid-career workers and the Conservatives promising to protect seniors from scams.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre are sticking close to the city all week as they prepare for their first face-to-face confrontation in the French leaders' debate set to take place in Montreal Wednesday.
Carney visited suburban Saint-Eustache, Que., where he promised to give workers in key sectors like health care, manufacturing, construction and technology up to $15,000 for job training.
Carney's announcement was one of his proposals to shore up the economy against punishing U.S. tariffs. He said tariffs will be a central part of the negotiations between the next prime minister and U.S. President Donald Trump.
"The core question is, who's going to be at the table for Canada? I'm running hard so that I can be at the table for Canada to win, for Canadian workers," Carney said.
In Montreal, Poilievre outlined his plan for mandatory jail sentences for fraud convictions, stronger flagging of suspicious activity and a 24-hour delay on high-risk transactions in seniors' accounts.
"Imagine your 80-year-old mother getting a phone call from a voice that she thinks is yours, and you are asking her for money," Poilievre said, describing one scam technique.
"That heart of gold then makes her vulnerable to the worst, most sociopathic scam artists."
He said the Conservatives have a broad plan to crack down on crime and to ensure that multiple murderers only leave prison "in a box."
Tuesday's announcement was the latest in a suite of crime policy proposals from the Conservatives. They've also promised a three-strikes rule for serious offences and multiple mandatory minimum penalties.
On Monday, Poilievre said he would use the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and pass a law allowing judges to stack convictions for multiple murders to ensure offenders have no chance at parole.
"Canadian seniors cannot afford a fourth Liberal term of crime and chaos. They need change," he said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, also campaigning in Montreal, said he would bring back the proposed increase to the capital gains tax that the Liberals introduced last year and then scrapped before the election.
The proposal was set to take effect on June 25 of last year and would have seen all businesses and individuals reporting more than $250,000 in capital gains in a year pay more tax on those proceeds.
The proposed change drew vocal opposition from some business groups and the Conservatives. It was never passed into law.
Singh said backing away from the capital gains tax hike was the wrong move.
"The Liberals provided a measure to change that a little bit, just to make that a bit more fair. That would have raised $19 billion over five years," he said.
Singh said he would use the extra revenue to fund universal pharmacare, bring in national rent control and a grocery price cap, and build homes.
Trump's tariffs have overshadowed much of this campaign and have become a top issue for many voters. They threatened to supersede things again Tuesday, as reports emerged from a Japanese news outlet suggesting Honda was considering moving some production from Canada to the U.S. as a result of the tariffs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Industry Minister Anita Anand later said that Honda had assured them such a move was not being considered.
None of the major parties have released costed election platforms, with less than two weeks to go until voting day, and with advance polls opening on Friday.
Carney committed to releasing the Liberal platform before advance polls close, and took a shot at Poilievre's Conservatives in the process.
"We have, on a regular basis, released very detailed policy proposals — not slogans, but detailed policy proposals," he said.
Poilievre has promised to release a platform but has not said when that will happen.
Singh said the New Democrats' platform will be available "as soon as possible."
The Bloc Québécois has released a policy platform but it does not include costed promises.
Carney's personal popularity has increased over the course of the campaign. A new poll from Abacus Data suggests Canadians like him better than Poilievre.
The poll, which was conducted online and cannot be assigned a margin of error, suggested Carney has a favourability rating of 48 per cent positive and 28 per cent negative, compared to Poilievre’s rating of 40 per cent positive and 45 per cent negative.
But Carney is also a political newcomer and his French-language skills will be under the microscope in Wednesday’s French-language debate.
He was asked on Tuesday if he's nervous.
"I work on my French every day," Carney said, adding he thinks the debates are important.
He said it's heartening to see Canadians paying close attention to the election.
"My sense is that Canadians are more engaged in this election than they have been in four decades," he said.
The English-language debate is scheduled for Thursday.
Singh said his debate plan involves pressing Carney on what the Liberals will cut from the government's operating budget and attacking Poilievre — who he claimed "wants Canada to be the United States in all but name."
"I'm going to take on these two leaders on their offers for Canada and present our vision for Canada," Singh said.
Poilievre — who only takes four questions from selected reporters at each press conference, with no followups — wasn't asked about the debates on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2024.
Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
