Election 2025

Darrell Bricker on whether this will be a political realignment election

As Canada’s federal election campaign launches, CEO of Ipsos Darrell Bricker provided The Hub with an analysis of the political landscape, revealing a contest that’s become a pure test of leadership between Prime Minister and Liberal leader Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. With just six weeks until voting day, Bricker’s insights expose the vulnerabilities and opportunities for both campaigns in what may become a historic realignment election.

Not this old person.

On Sunday, freshly minted Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Governor General Mary Simon at Rideau Hall triggering a federal election which will send Canadians to the ballot boxes on April 28. Parliament is now dissolved. Monday’s previously scheduled return to the House of Commons for MPs is now cancelled.

Politics is a game of patience. Politicians need to master the ability to control their words, thoughts and emotions, whether they’re speaking in front of small groups, large audiences or the media – and no matter what the provocation. If a politician lets his or her guard down too often, the voters are likely to catch on. At best, they will develop a reputation for gaffes. At worst, they’ll be considered unsuitable for high office.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, who called a snap election on Sunday afternoon for April 28, might be about to head down that path at lightning speed. It could ultimately lead to a very brief tenure as my country’s leader.

H/T Mauser

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a proposal on Monday to cut the tax rate for the lowest income bracket, saving the average family about $1,800 annually.

The Conservatives plan to lower the rate for the bottom income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent, which the party says would save the average worker about $900.

… During a March 8 interview with Breitbart, a right-wing U.S. media company, Smith said the Conservative Party of Canada was far ahead of the governing Liberal Party in polls before the trade war. But the threat of “unjust and unfair tariffs” had boosted Liberal support.

Smith told U.S. administration officials that she hoped “we could put things on pause,” so Canada could get through an election, she told Breitbart. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is more aligned with the Trump administration’s agenda, Smith said.

A “a right-wing U.S. media company”? The Pol Pot Post is probably to the right of CBC.

MONTREAL — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh opened the 2025 election campaign heading east to Montreal, diving into a region where his party has struggled in recent years, but once found historic success in the “Orange Wave” of another era.

It was part of a defiant tone struck by Singh in his opening act of the campaign, as he refused to submit to the judgments of national polls and a political class that suggested his party was in big trouble.

Soiled himself Singh made his own brand toxic.

They say that in politics, timing is everything. On Sunday, as the long-awaited federal election campaign finally kicked off, there was a funhouse-mirror quality to the way everyone played with the notion of time.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney made the ritualistic visit to Rideau Hall to ask the Governor-General to kill off this Parliament and send Canadians to the polls, and then he stepped to a lectern just outside the front doors to speak to the media.

This election isn’t about Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre, or even Donald Trump. It’s about trust. Can the Liberals be trusted to do the things necessary to put Canada first?

Or put another way: Who is gullible enough to vote for the Liberals (for a fourth time!) believing they will change their over-spending and under-investing ways?

Strategically Carney getting elected a positive for Trump. Here is why.

1. Carney aggressively goes after Canadian oil and gas sector. No pipelines built because of production cap and U.S. continues to get oil and gas at a substantial discount to world markets.

2. Carney’s…

— Martin Pelletier (@MPelletierCIO) March 23, 2025

h/t Mauser

CityNews-Leger poll shows strong support for Carney-led Liberal party among Torontonians

Torontonians strongly favour a Liberal government under Mark Carney, according to a CityNews-Leger poll.

That is likely not good news for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, as experts say Toronto ridings will be crucial for any path to victory for both the Liberals and Conservatives in this election.

You can’t expect much from the city that elected Chairman Chow.

By the end of 2024, the next Canadian federal election was shaping up to be a car crash for the Liberals. The party, which has been in power since 2015, seemed destined for political exile. Despite weathering U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, the pandemic, the SNC-Lavalin affair and the WE charity controversy – or probably because of these things – Justin Trudeau had become a polarizing figure, while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was probably measuring the drapes in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Fresh off his third straight election win, Ontario Premier Doug Ford seems content to watch the fight to form the next federal government from the sidelines — but it’s a battle experts say he may not be able to stay out of even if he tries.

Ford swept back to power nearly a month ago after calling a snap vote in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war. The premier has built up political capital on the file as a vocal opponent of the imposed fees from south of the border, which helped him cement his re-elected majority government.

But while the tariff battle and Trump appear set to become a major ballot box question federally, the Progressive Conservative premier has signalled he’s planning to stay out of that battle — something his office confirmed to CBC News.

He’ll join the Liberal Party campaign.

“We got you.” So said a teary-eyed Justin Trudeau on March 6 in his final speech as prime minister. Canadians wept too — jubilant tears over his departure.

The deservedly loathed one, who belittled, betrayed and weakened Canada, moulding it into a socialist shell of its former proud democratic self, offered a wild fairytale account of his decade as PM.