Roundup: Chiang overshadows the day

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Day nine, and in spite of the big plans that some of the leaders were trying to put forward, the issue of Paul Chiang loomed over everything. Mark Carney was in Vaughan, Ontario, and pitched a very bold plan to stand up a new Build Canada Homes organization, which would see the federal government take charge of building houses, with a goal of reaching 500,000 new homes per year, and using the market power to stand up a pre-fabrication industry that would have the certainty that these orders are coming in. (They also had to quietly change the French name of the proposed organisation after the initial version was grammatically incorrect). He also promised a number of things around development charges and permitting that are not within federal jurisdiction, so questions remain as to how he expects to reach those goals. Carney will be in Winnipeg today.

Pierre Poilievre was in Fredericton, New Brunswick, pitching a national energy corridor, without saying how he plans to actually achieve it over the provinces and First Nations. (Yes, Carney talked about this with the premiers, but there have been no details yet). When asked about the mounting frustration within the campaign, Poilievre avoided answering the question, but defended his platform under the rubric that the Liberals weakened the country. Poilievre will be in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador this morning, and hold a rally in Borden-Carleton, PEI, in the evening.

Jagmeet Singh was in Victoria, and promoted energy retrofits that would create “good union jobs,” which continues to feel hopelessly behind the curve. We also saw Singh’s messaging strategy start to shift as well, insisting that electing more NDP MPs mean more people fighting for the “little guy” in negotiations around the future of the country and yeah, I’m not sure that’s not quite how it works. Singh remains in Edmonton today.

In other campaign news, here’s a comparison of how the party leaders are each dealing with the Trump threats, and how that is reflected in their policies. On the Paul Chiang question, Carney said that he spoke with Chiang and that he still has his confidence, which raises big questions about Carney’s political judgment. Chiang posted that he had resigned as candidate around midnight, which takes the issue off the table, but leaves the questions around Carney’s judgment hanging in the air.

Ukraine Dispatch

President Zelenskyy says that Russia has committed over 183,000 war crimes in Ukraine since the start of their invasion, and that they need to be punished for it.

Good reads:

  • More American tariffs are on the way tomorrow, and we are assured there will be “no exceptions” this time.
  • Because of the rise in threats against political candidates, the government is offering private security for the first time to those who need it.
  • Here is a look at how Canada Proud is able to blanket Facebook and Instagram using a loophole in their news ban while legitimate news remains blocked.
  • Here is a closer look at Poilievre’s wife, Anaida, and the role she is playing both in his leadership and on the campaign.
  • Maclean’s has a longread profile of Jenni Byrne.
  • Ontario’s integrity commissioner found that a former Doug Ford staffer-turned-lobbyist broke several rules while lobbying on the Greenbelt file.
  • The CBC got the audio from Danielle Smith’s appearance in Florida with Ben Shapiro, and her message about annexation was about progressive voters.
  • Anne Applebaum offers a reality check on what Hungary is really like, while the MAGA crowd lionizes it (and Canadian conservatives have also been enamoured).
  • Emmett Macfarlane points out the illogic in Poilievre claiming to fight “DEI” and “woke culture” in Quebec, while also promising to protect French language rights.
  • Althia Raj posits that Carney’s intransigence on the Chiang issue shows he apparently needs to be shamed into doing the right thing.
  • Susan Delacourt sees one of Poilievre’s biggest issues is his unwillingness to build bridges, which is dooming him at this stage of the campaign.

Odds and ends:

My Loonie Politics Quick Take recaps the first week on the campaign trail.

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