Carney speaks with reporters after triggering federal election campaign

german mark Carney is at present speech production in look of Rideau radclyffe hall after a roughly 30-minute meeting with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

Poilievre was the only opposition leader who declined to get security clearance that’s necessary to be briefed on top secret information related to foreign interference. The Liberals have been using this as an attack line on the Conservative leader.

When asked Sunday about his decision, Poilievre repeated his claim that getting the clearance would prevent him from speaking out — a claim that former security officials have refuted.

“What I’m not going to do is go into a politically directed process by the Liberals that they use to decide what I can see and say and comment on,” Poilievre told reporters.

Asked by a Radio-Canada reporter how he differentiates himself from Donald Trump, Poilievre sought to draw comparisons between Trump and the Liberal government.

“I’ve said I want the opposite of Donald Trump. He wants to impose tariffs on our industries and our companies,” and take advantage of Canada’s natural resources, Poilievre said in French.

He accused the Liberals of helping Trump’s agenda by “driving investment south,” “blocking pipeline construction” and giving the U.S. “our resources at a discount.”

“I respect the office of the president of the United States and we have to show respect to other world leaders,” began Poilievre.

“Whoever is the prime minister will have to deal with Donald Trump,” the Conservative leader said, noting that Trump will be around for four more years and that Canada and the U.S. Have a deeply intertwined trade relationship.

But Poilievre said he doesn’t respect Trump’s treatment of Canada, and that if elected prime minister, he would stand up to the threats against the country’s sovereignty.

“You can be respectful and firm — I believe we have to be both,” said Poilievre, telling reporters that he will insist that Trump stop “terrifying our nation.”

For his campaign launch on the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River, Poilievre stood behind a new podium sign.

The sign reads “Canada First, For a Change.” Poilievre also ended his speech with those words.

The Conservatives shifted to the “Canada First” messaging after Donald Trump’s tariff and annexation threats upended the political landscape here. But the “for a change” message is new, and telling.

Polling has shown an appetite for change among the electorate in this election.

“We’re happy to be here to launch our campaign to restore Canada’s promise,” said Poilievre in his remarks, with Parliament Hill seen behind him across the Ottawa River. He arrived with his wife and two children.

He took aim at the Liberals, saying the governing party is “desperate for a fourth term,” and that there’s little difference between Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney.

“A Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal,” he said.

Poilievre said that a Conservative government will cut taxes, put Canada first, unleash entrepreneurs, build homes for youth, secure the country’s borders, rebuild the military and honour the flag.

Addressing Trump’s threats against Canada, Poilievre told Canadians, “I share your anger and I share the worry for our future.” He reiterated that Canada “will never be an American state; we will always be a sovereign and self-reliant country.”

Part of Poilievre’s strategy since Carney took over as Liberal leader is to link him to Trudeau. He said in his opening campaign speech that Carney was a Trudeau advisor and suggested that the former central banker doesn’t represent real change.

“After the lost Liberal decade, the question is whether Canadians can afford a fourth Liberal term,” he said.

As Poilievre continues his campaign launch in Gatineau, the prime minister has arrived at Rideau Hall to ask Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and officially launch the election campaign.

He will come outside and speak to Canadians afterwards.

Speaking from Gatineau, Que., the Conservative leader began his remarks in French, as is his custom. He made his pitch to Canadians — that, if elected, he would put Canada first, unleash its natural resources, build housing and secure the country’s borders, while standing up to Trump’s threats.

This election is about a lot of things. It’s about trade and tariffs and threats and sovereignty. It’s about anger and disappointment and frustration. But if you zoom out, it’s about the economy.

One thing just about everyone agrees on is that Canada’s economy has fallen behind. The above chart compares Canada’s per capita to its Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) partners growth going back to the final months of the Stephen Harper government in 2015.

Canada’s growth is second-last, ahead of only Luxembourg.

The start date matters here. Remember, the global price of oil fell off a cliff in 2014 and 2015. That clobbered the Canadian economy. It drove down investment and has not yet rebounded.

Amidst that downturn, Liberal government policies made it harder to approve resource projects.

The Conservatives and many industry associations have repeatedly said those policies kept investment low and hindered an economic rebound.

Today, the Liberals have promised to speed up approvals and unleash the Canadian economy as a way of offsetting the damage of a trade war.

The biggest economic question Canadian voters will be asked in this election is which leader — and which party — is best positioned to deliver on that promise.

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