Roundup: Election 2025, Day One

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Around noon on Sunday, prime minister Mark Carney visited Rideau Hall and advised the Governor General to dissolve Parliament for an election. She agreed, signed the proclamation, and the 45th general election was underway. The election will be held on April 28th, making it a short five-week campaign.

Mark Carney spoke afterward, and immediately promised a “Middle Class™ tax cut,” because clearly what’s needed in a time of economic uncertainty, and when we need to ramp up our defence spending and response to the economic predations of Trump, is a tax cut that will disproportionately benefit top income earners. Carney then headed to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, for his first campaign stop.

Pierre Poilievre got his message out early, and he took a couple of mild jabs at Trump, before doubling down on his usual nonsense about “open border” creating crime (which is completely false), and insisted that his campaign offers hope and change, and insisted that they will “restore” the promise of the country. He then headed off to Toronto for a “Canada First™” rally.

Jagmeet Singh accused the Liberals of letting the country “rot from the inside,” and that he’s about people and not billionaires. (All tens of them in Canada?) From his initial Ottawa launch, he then headed to Montreal for his first stop.

And the Green co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault called for unity during the election in order to stand up to Trump and the global oligarchs that are seeking to destroy democracy.

In the background of all of this was an interview that Danielle Smith gave to Breitbart News in the US, where she claims that she told members of the Trump administration to hold off on tariffs in order to help get Poilievre elected, because he would be more in sync with them. This is pretty shocking, if she is indeed telling the truth and not just giving some kind of boast to make herself look good for the Breitbart crowd. Poilievre insists that Trump wants Carney to win because he’ll be a pushover, and I mean, come on. Carney gave his usual points about needing respect from Trump before they’ll talk. Nevertheless, the fact that we have premiers freelancing foreign policy like this is a Very Bad Thing and they need to be reined in.

 

Ukraine Dispatch

Russia launched 147 drones at several cities across Ukraine overnight Sunday, and killed at least seven. On Saturday, Russian shelling killed three in Pokrovsk. The blaze at Russia’s Krasnodar oil depot has been burning for over five days now.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1903740311689363767

Good reads:

  • Mark Carney has announced he’ll be running for a seat in Ottawa Nepean, which is the riding neighbouring Pierre Poilievre’s.
  • Just before the election call, the government announced the expansion of dental care, money for AgriStability, Jordan’s Principle, and the Yukon convention centre.
  • The federal government is updating travel advisories to the US and China, given the recent tensions (and the batshit crazy detentions in the US).
  • The RCMP’s Protective Behaviour Analysis Unit, which assists protective details, is understaffed and facing burnout.
  • The task force charged with protecting the election from foreign interference says they may be more vocal about threats this time than they were previously.
  • In spite of banks pulling out of climate targets thanks to US pressure, investors are still demanding reporting on climate investments.
  • Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi is going to run for Federal Liberals after all.
  • Here is a look at some of the confusion and anxiety in the Conservative backrooms now that the election they had planned to run isn’t working for them anymore.
  • The Nova Scotia legislature voted unanimously to remove Tesla from their EV rebate programme.
  • Doug Saunders points out how Trump has been speedrunning the Viktor Orbán playbook of destroying a democracy.
  • Kevin Carmichael hopes that the election will have a positive outcome for business certainty, which is driving layoffs even before the tariffs hit.
  • Peter MacLeod and Taylor Owen propose bringing back a communications ministry to help deal with the information war that we are involved in.
  • Stephen Maher hears that the Conservatives were trying to get Trump to distance himself from Poilievre in order to help him regain momentum in the polls.
  • Althia Raj looks at the damage that Danielle Smith is causing Poilievre’s campaign.
  • Matt Gurney speaks with the head of the Canadian Forces Joint Operations Command about the state of the Forces in the current global environment.
  • Susan Delacourt remarks on how the notions of change and stability have been altered by the Trump discourse in the current election cycle.
  • Delacourt and Gurney debate how Poilievre is like Trudeau (slow to recognise danger, and even slower to respond), and to beware polling sugar rushes.
  • Paul Wells remarks on day one of the campaign.
  • My weekend column makes the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that if premiers are going to write to make demands of the PM, he should make his own demands.

Odds and ends:

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