OTTAWA — Canada’s 45th general election got underway Sunday, with the leaders vying to become Canada’s next prime minister each positioning themselves as best to strengthen Canada’s economy and stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney triggered the campaign midday by visiting Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and asking her to dissolve Parliament. Speaking outside Rideau Hall following that meeting, he said he is offering solutions instead of anger and division.
“It’s easy to be negative about everything when you’ve never built anything; when you’ve never had to make a payroll,” he said. “Negativity won’t win a trade war.”
Right out of the gate Carney promised a one point cut to the middle class tax rate and said an election is necessary to have a strong response to American economic threats.
The Liberal leader has not yet served as an MP, and he will seek election in the Ottawa riding of Nepean.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre launched his campaign an hour before Carney addressed media, saying he plans to restore the promise of Canada and tackle affordability issues that he blames on elites.
“Our nation is more divided than ever before, because the Liberal, radical, post-national, borderless and globalist ideology has weakened our nation,” Poilievre said in Gatineau, Que., overlooking Parliament Hill.
“Now, desperate for a fourth term, Liberals have replaced Justin Trudeau with his economic advisor and handpicked successor, Mark Carney.”
Poilievre said he will bring down the cost of living and fix the immigration system while having a strong military.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh launched his campaign from a downtown Ottawa hotel, reiterating his party’s success in convincing the Liberals to enact national dental care and pharmacare programs.
He said Canadians are losing their jobs and blamed what he described as “Donald Trump’s illegal trade war.”
Canadians are losing their jobs and deserve a government that “has their backs,” he said.
Recent polls have suggested the Liberals and Conservatives are in a neck-and-neck race and the comfortable polling lead the Conservatives enjoyed for more than a year has all but evaporated. The NDP, which a few months ago was tied with the Liberals in many surveys, has watched its support plummet.
Trump has threated to economically coerce Canada into becoming a U.S. state, implementing some tariffs and promising others in response for a shifting set of policy changes ranging from fentanyl flows to dairy quotas.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
