Last day of Canada’s election campaign jolted by Vancouver attack

OTTAWA - Canadian leaders made their final push for votes on April 27, one day before an election dominated by US President Donald Trump’s policies, but rattled in the campaign’s final hours by a deadly car-ramming attack in Vancouver.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberal Party leader, is favoured to beat Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in the April 28 vote, but polls show the race has tightened in recent days.

The Prime Minister briefly paused his campaign schedule on April 27 to address the nation after

a driver ploughed into a crowd at a Filipino street festival

in the west coast city, killing 11 people.

Mr Carney, a 60-year-old father of four, teared up as he voiced support for those affected.

“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter,” Mr Carney said.

“Those families are living every family’s nightmare.”

After cancelling an earlier event near Vancouver, the Liberal campaign said Mr Carney would visit the city later on April 27.

A 30-year-old man who police said had a history of mental health issues and previous interactions with law enforcement was in custody following the attack that injured dozens.

Mr Poilievre, appearing alongside his wife at a church in the election battleground city of Mississauga, west of Toronto, condemned the attack as a “senseless act of violence”.

“Our hearts are with you today. All Canadians are united in solidarity with the Filipino community,” Mr Poilievre said.

The Vancouver attack briefly shifted the nation’s focus away from Mr Trump, whose trade war and

threats to annex Washington’s northern neighbour

have outraged Canadians.

Polling consistently shows Canadians believe Mr Carney – a former investment banker who has also led the central banks of Canada and Britain – is the strongest candidate to take on Washington.

“This is an existential issue that we’re facing,” Ottawa resident Brian Carr told AFP on April 27, referring to US government hostility.

Mr Carr, 79, said he was supporting Mr Carney because the Liberal leader “has demonstrated throughout his career that he is capable of leading and dealing with financial issues”.

Ms Julie Dunbar, a 72-year-old Ottawa resident, told AFP she was impressed by Mr Carney’s “experience on the international stage”.

Since replacing Mr Justin Trudeau as prime minister on March 14, Mr Carney has sought to convince voters that his resume has prepared him to lead Canada through a trade war and respond to tariffs that are pinching key sectors such as auto and steel.

‘One more day’

Mr Poilievre, a 45-year-old who has been in Parliament for two decades, has worked to keep the focus on living costs that soared during Mr Trudeau’s decade in power, arguing that Mr Carney would bring a continuation of what he calls failed Liberal governance.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd in the southern Ontario city of Oakville on April 27, Mr Poilievre told supporters that “time is running out.”

“Only one more day to bring home change so that Canadians can afford food and homes and live on safe streets,” he said.

At the rally, Tory supporter Janice Wyner told AFP that the country was “just in a mess”.

“I’m 70 years old. It’s not even a country that I recognise and I’m worried for my grandkids,” she said.

Her estimation of the Liberals was not flattering, saying Mr Trudeau’s “policies stunk and it’s the same party”.

Poll swings

At the start of the year, Mr Poilievre appeared on track to be Canada’s next prime minister.

His party led the Liberals by more than 20 points in most polls on Jan 6, the day Mr Trudeau announced his plans to resign.

But the Trudeau-for-Carney swop, combined with nationwide unease about Mr Trump, has transformed the race.

Public broadcaster CBC’s poll aggregator on April 27 put the Liberals’ national support at 42.8 per cent, with the Conservatives at 38.8 per cent.

As with US elections, national polling numbers may not predict a result.

When voting closes on April 28, Conservatives will be closely watching the performance of the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) and the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

In past Canadian elections, strong NDP performances in Ontario and British Columbia, and a good showing by the Bloc in Quebec, have curbed Liberal seat tallies, but polls suggest both smaller parties could be facing a setback. AFP