Four of Canada’s political leaders gathered on Thursday for a debate in an election campaign during which President Trump’s potentially crippling tariffs and his calls for Canada’s annexation have loomed above all other issues.
The politicians repeatedly referred to the challenges posed by Mr. Trump as a crisis for Canada. But three candidates piled on the fourth: Prime Minister Mark Carney, the former central banker of Canada and England, who took the office this month after being elected the leader of the Liberal Party.
Mr. Carney’s opponents included his chief contender, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, which for much of the past year had dominated polls and appeared headed for a certain victory in the April 28 federal election. Mr. Carney’s move into politics and Mr. Trump’s economic and political assault on Canada have since reversed the fortunes of the Conservatives, with the Liberals enjoying a slight lead in the polls.
The other candidates were Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party and Yves-François Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, a party that promotes Quebec’s independence and runs candidates only in that province.
Here are key takeaways from the two-hour debate.
None of the candidates had concrete ideas on pushing back against President Trump.
All of the politicians agreed that President Trump’s economic policies and his proposal to annex Canada have created a crisis.
But none of them offered any specific details about how they would get he American leader to change course, beyond general talk of tough negotiations at which they would assert Canada’s sovereignty and economic independence.
“They want to break us so that they can own us,” Mr. Carney said.
Mr. Carney leaned on his past as the Governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 economic crisis and his time as the Governor of the Bank of England during Brexit to present himself as the ideal negotiator.
Mr. Poilievre, a lifelong politician, blamed the Liberal government of the last decade for putting Canada “under the thumb” of the United States.
The candidates were divided on crime.
One of the clearest rifts of the evening came on how to deal with crime.
Mr. Poilievre, who has painted his country as ridden with crime, has long promised to impose mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes and consecutive sentences for mass murderers, should he be elected.
When an earlier Conservative government introduced such measures, they were struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Poilievre has promised that he would be the first federal leader to use a part of the Constitution that allows governments to implement laws that the courts have declared unconstitutional. Such a step, he said, would protect citizens’ constitutional rights to “security of the person.”
Mr. Carney said any move aimed at circumventing Supreme Court decisions would be “very dangerous.” He criticized the Conservative leader for his opposition to gun control measures.
They argued over the funding of public broadcasting.
Mr. Poilievre has long said he would cut off funding to the English-language services of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation but continue to fund its French-language service, which is much more popular. During the campaign, he has repeatedly said that he would turn the CBC English network headquarters into affordable housing.
The network receives about $1 billion a year from the government and also raises money through television advertising and streaming subscription fees.
While Mr. Poilievre did not back down on his vow to cut the broadcaster’s funding, he did say that the English CBC would continue to operate as a not-for-profit company that could replace government money through fund-raising.
Mr. Carney has promised to increase funding for the CBC.
The candidates debated building oil and gas pipelines.
To reduce Canada’s reliance on exports to the United States, Mr. Poilievre called for a rapid approval process to build oil and natural gas pipelines across Canada that would enable the country to sell those resources to Europe.
No pipeline company has expressed any interest in building such pipelines, and several Indigenous groups and some provinces beyond oil-rich Alberta, particularly Quebec, have opposed them.
Mr. Carney also spoke about building more pipelines but said he would create a new single approval process that involves provinces and Indigenous people. He did not offer details.
By the time any pipeline is finished, Mr. Blanchet of Bloc Québécois noted, Mr. Trump will likely be in his 90s.
The legacy of Justin Trudeau hung over the debate.
Mr. Poilievre criticized what he called the “lost Liberal decade” under Justin Trudeau, who stepped down as prime minister this month, and said Mr. Carney would be more of the same.
“Mark Carney is asking for a fourth Liberal term repeating exactly the same Liberal promises that priced you out of the house,” Mr. Poilievre said.
Mr. Carney sought to distance himself from his predecessor as Liberal leader.
“It may be difficult for Mr. Poilievre,” Mr. Carney said. “You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax, and they are both gone.”
He added, “I am a very different person than Justin Trudeau.”
Ian Austen reports on Canada for The Times based in Ottawa. He covers politics, culture and the people of Canada and has reported on the country for two decades. He can be reached at [email protected].
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