Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to and pours coffee for seniors at the Happy Gang Centre during a campaign stop in Terrace, B.C., on April 7.Aaron Whitfield/The Canadian Press
Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised support for retirees whose savings have taken a hit amid market instability, while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for creating chaos in the stock market.
U.S. tariffs continued to drive the federal election campaign on Monday after North American stock markets plummeted again. Mr. Trump has doubled down on his global levies, threatening to raise the tariff rate on China further.
The Liberals, who kicked off campaigning this week in British Columbia, said they would reduce the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from a registered retirement income fund by 25 per cent. They also proposed increasing the guaranteed income supplement by 5 per cent, a tax-free annual boost of up to $652 for low-income seniors. Both measures would be in place for one year.
“Many Canadians are understandably worried about their jobs and their retirement savings, which is why, anticipating this need, we announced this morning that we will help to protect Canadians’ retirement savings from this market uncertainty,” Mr. Carney said in a news conference.
Mr. Poilievre previously announced that his party would delay when seniors must withdraw their savings from their RRSPs by two years. He also said the Conservatives would increase the amount working seniors can earn tax-free by $10,000, which would save those who earn $34,000 an additional $1,300 a year.
“My government has already proposed an immediate response to help our seniors,” Mr. Poilievre said Monday. “We know that seniors should not pay the price for Donald Trump’s economic vandalism over the last several days.”
Mr. Trump has become a central focus of the federal election campaign, prompting leaders to lay out how they would guide Canada through a period of economic instability and tense relations with the U.S. While Mr. Carney is pitching himself as the right person to defend Canada’s interests, Mr. Poilievre is warning that Canadians cannot afford more Liberal policy failures.
“We are all watching the stock market with interest today. We acknowledge, we have to acknowledge, that this chaos is the direct result of wrong-headed, unnecessary, chaotic policies coming from President Trump,” Mr. Poilievre said at a news conference in Terrace, B.C.
“These tariffs are a massive distraction, and they remind us why it was such a mistake for the Liberals to make us so dependent on the Americans over the lost Liberal decade.”
The Conservative Leader said his plan to speed up energy development in Canada is all the more necessary as the President pursues global tariffs, with Mr. Poilievre promising to streamline resource projects by creating a simple application process and a single environmental review.
He also pledged to rapidly approve 10 projects if his party forms government, including Phase 2 of LNG Canada, a massive natural gas liquefaction project in northern British Columbia. LNG Canada’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 plans already received environmental approvals in 2018 from B.C. and federal regulators. But Mr. Poilievre promised that under a Conservative government, the project would be fast-tracked.
The five co-owners of LNG Canada are expected to make a final investment decision on Phase 2 next year. The first shipment of liquefied natural gas from Phase 1 is slated to be exported by mid-2025 to Asia from the terminal in Kitimat, B.C.
Meanwhile, Mr. Carney targeted NDP and Green ridings in B.C., on Sunday and Monday as public opinion polling increasingly points to a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives. Mr. Carney made an announcement on conservation and biodiversity in Saanich-Gulf Islands, a riding Green Party Co-Leader Elizabeth May has held since 2011.
“Unfortunately, but the reality is that the key issue in this election is who can stand up to the threats from America to our sovereignty, to our nature, to our livelihoods, to our future,” Mr. Carney said on Monday in response to a question about his message to NDP voters in the region.
The Liberal Leader promised to beef up conservation efforts in Canada by creating 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as making national parks and historical sites free to visit this summer. The Liberals have also pledged to reintroduce legislation that would ensure clean drinking water for First Nations and the allocation of funding to protect freshwater and wildlife.
Mr. Carney argued that Canada can both lead on the climate transition and environmental conservation, while making use of its natural resources. “We have to be able to do in government more than one thing at one time,” he said.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promised Monday that an NDP government would spend $16-billion over four years to build three million homes by 2030. The funds would be split evenly between two programs.
The Canadian Homes Transfer would “reward” cities that build more multi-unit homes in all neighbourhoods, build more homes near transit hubs and speed up permitting. The Communities First Fund would allow provinces to expand the water and sewage infrastructure.
With reports from Brent Jang and The Canadian Press