Canada
Liberals continue lead over Tories after 1st week of Canada election: poll
The latest Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News shows both the Liberals and new party leader Mark Carney are continuing to pick up momentum since the election began last Sunday. The Conservatives have also gained ground, to the detriment of the New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois.
Donald Trump cause de la division dans la campagne conservatrice
... le jour de l’annonce des tarifs par Donald Trump, Pierre Poilievre a tenu un rassemblement à Surrey, en soirée, devant plusieurs milliers de partisans conservateurs. Il a pris la parole pendant 50 minutes. Il n’a mentionné Donald Trump qu’à une seule reprise, quand il a dit que Mark Carney est trop faible pour se tenir debout devant le président américain. Le reste du discours a porté sur la taxe carbone, le crime, le fentanyl, l’immigration et une dénonciation du Forum économique mondial, au centre de nombreuses théories du complot. Cette dénonciation a reçu l’ovation la plus bruyante de la soirée.
Avoiding the Trump trap—Why the Conservatives might want to keep ‘change’ as the election focus
David Coletto: So, to me, the real battle in front of the Conservatives is not about finding a way to win on the Trump issue as opposed to convincing Canadians that Trump is not the only issue. The numbers back this case up. Among voters who believe the central question is about change—specifically, avoiding a fourth term of a Liberal government—the Conservatives lead by about 30 points. Hence, if “Is it time for a change?” becomes the campaign’s defining question or a least co-defining question alongside the Trump threat, the Conservatives will be the clear beneficiaries. And we already know that a majority of Canadians (54 percent) want a change in government.
Tory MP Rempel Garner defends Conservative campaign plan amid pressure for Poilievre to pivot
Four-term Calgary-area MP Michelle Rempel Garner told National Post in an interview Saturday that she is confident Poilievre’s deliberate approach of incrementally rolling out detailed policies is the path to victory on for the April 28 vote. “A campaign is a long period of time, and one of the things you have to do is … put forward a hopeful plan and show stability, calmness and discipline,” she said. “People respond to that, when it’s authentic.”
Conservative leaks, insider complaints 'unhelpful', says strategist
“We should trust in the campaign team to adjust as they see fit,” she said in an interview with The Canadian Press. Amanda Galbraith, co-founder of the Oyster Group and a former campaign staffer, said the Conservatives have a tendency to turn on leaders at the first sight of trouble in the polls, in part because of “complexities” in a party that includes various factions, such as urban business types and rural, social conservatives.
Poilievre pitches Tories as best choice to stand up to Trump as Singh heads to B.C.
Poilievre dismissed the suggestion that he should focus his campaign more squarely on the U.S. threat, saying the promised reinvestment tax cut would bring billions of dollars into the economy to help Canada fight Trump's unfair tariffs from a position of strength.
Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan slams Liberal MP's Chinese 'bounty' quip
Kwan, the NDP MP for Vancouver East, called Chiang’s comments “absolutely astounding. He is a police officer, and he ought to know that when the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) went out and put a bounty on anybody, including Canadians, that cannot be acceptable. That is intimidation at its worst. “And yet, he played right into it. He advocated for people to bring him to the Chinese consulate to collect the bounty. In what universe is this normal?” No surprise, I'm sure, to readers of this newsletter, that the CPC has called on Carney to fire Chiang as the candidate in Markham--Unionville, a riding that the Conservatives won under Harper but which is currently trending Liberal.
The Provinces
Danielle Smith: The Canadian Conservative trying to sweet talk Trump
While many of the country's leaders - from Prime Minister Mark Carney to Ontario's Premier Doug Ford - are talking tough on Donald Trump, Smith has been taking a notably softer approach. But this tact has landed her in hot water, not only with her opponents, but also in her home province of Alberta and with politicians who otherwise share her political leanings.
Alberta Premier talks about recent Florida trip on ‘Your Province, Your Premier’
“Any work that we can do collectively to minimize, reduce or delay any tariffs is good for all of us,” Smith told host Wayne Nelson. “He (Shapiro) devoted his entire podcast to talking about how terrible tariffs were for American businesses… and that’s what we wanted to accomplish.”
Elsewhere
‘We decide our own future’: Greenland PM says U.S. will not get Greenland
'Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else,' Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the prime minister of Greenland, wrote.
Trump 'very angry' and 'pissed off' at Putin over his questioning of Ukraine's leadership
During an interview that aired on Sunday, Trump threatened to impose secondary tariffs on oil coming out of Russia if he felt it hindered progress towards ending the war in Ukraine. He is set to speak to Putin in the coming week. Can't bear repeating enough: Tariffs are taxes AMERICANS pay. Not Russians or anyone else. So Trump is saying, if Putin doesn't fall in line, Trump will shoot the American consumer in the foot.. Sanctions? Sure. Tariffs on Russian products? Pointless.
Trump Says He’s ‘Not Joking’ About Seeking a Third Term in Defiance of Constitution
Mr. Trump has often mused about the idea of a third term, particularly in rallies and speeches that have delighted his supporters, though he has often treated it more as a humorous aside. The interview was the first time that Mr. Trump — who has likened himself to a king and shown an affinity for autocratic leaders that constitutional experts and historians have compared to authoritarianism — indicated that he was seriously considering the idea, which his allies have continued to amplify. (🎁 link)
Media
Richard Carlson, Journalist Who Led Voice of America, Dies at 84
The father of the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, he won a Peabody Award for television reporting that uncovered a car company’s fraud.
Science and tech
Privacy Without Compromise: Proton VPN is Now Built Into Vivaldi
Yes, a world-class VPN, trusted by journalists, activists, and privacy die-hards alike, is now integrated natively into Vivaldi on desktop. No extra downloads. No complicated setup. Just powerful privacy, on your terms. Downloaded and installed. Great idea.
A smarter VPN experience: Introducing the Mozilla VPN extension for Windows
Through conversations with our users, we discovered that frustrations with VPNs were widespread. In fact, difficulty accessing specific sites was one of the top reasons people abandoned VPNs 🤯. With that in mind, we developed the Mozilla VPN extension for Windows, built in collaboration with Firefox, to offer a more adaptable, flexible, and secure browsing experience.
The Calendar
- 0900 ET: Vaughan, ON - LPC Leader Mark Carney makes an announcement and speaks to reporters.
- 1045 ET: Saint John, NB - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre campaigns in the riding of Saint John--St. Croix
- 1100 ET: National Press Theatre - The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force will provide a technical briefing to reporters.
- 1115 ET: La Pocatiere, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet speaks to reporters.
- 1230 ET: Victoria - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh makes an announcement and speaks to reporters.
- 1230 ET: Rivière-du-Loup, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet campaigns in the riding of Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata.
- 1400 ET: Fredericton - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre campaigns in the riding of Fredericton—Oromocto
- 1530 ET: Victoria - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh campaigns in the riding of Victoria
- 1730 ET: Fredericton - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters.
- 1730 ET: Fredericton - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters.
- 1830 ET: Georgetown, ON - LPC Leader Mark Carney campaigns in the riding of Wellington--Halton Hills.
- 2100 ET: Edmonton - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh campaigns in the riding of Edmonton Centre.
