Monday, April 21, 2025
 

With one week to go, Poilievre says a costed platform is coming 'soon'

Welcome to the final week of the federal election campaign. Millions of Canadians across the country have already voted, and parties will surely ramp up efforts to get fence-sitters on their side.

The Liberals and NDP released costed platforms over the weekend. But as the last day of advance voting begins, we're still waiting for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives to do the same.

Speaking to reporters in Richmond, B.C., on Saturday, Poilievre said Canadians already know "95 per cent" of what a government led by him would do because he's been rolling out policies throughout the campaign.

He promised a platform would be released "soon," making him the last major party leader to put a plan before voters.

"We need a change and Conservatives will bring that change in our platform," he said.

Poilievre tore into Carney for promising billions of dollars in new spending for housing, infrastructure and military measures, among other commitments, saying the level of spending is "shocking."

But the Conservative leader hasn't given many details about how he will pay for what he's pitching, including a sizable middle-class tax cut that will set the federal treasury back some $14 billion a year, according to early campaign estimates.

You can read more from John Paul Tasker here.

Welcome to Canada Votes. Every day, this newsletter will bring the latest from the 2025 federal election campaign straight to your inbox. We'll have CBC Politics' top stories, updates for each of the major party leaders, a photo of the day and insights from CBC's Poll Tracker. So stay tuned, there's a lot more in store.

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during an election campaign stop at the Fruiticana grocery store in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday. (Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney framed his fiscal and spending plan on Saturday in terms of a crisis — "the biggest crisis of our lifetimes," as he put it.

The United States is attacking Canada's economy and threatening Canadian sovereignty. The American president is "trying to fundamentally restructure the international trading system" and, in doing so, is "rupturing the global economy."

"And to succeed in a crisis, you have to act with overwhelming force," Carney said at an announcement in Ontario. "In a crisis … the private sector retreats, and government needs to step up. Government must lead and catalyze private investment."

A little while later, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre appeared at his own announcement in British Columbia, where he dismissed Carney's "inflationary" plan as a "spending bonanza" that Canada can't afford.

The questions of exactly how much federal spending has contributed to inflation in Canada, and exactly what the alternative was — particularly as it pertains to the spending the federal government did during the COVID-19 pandemic to support households, business and other levels of government — have not been adequately debated, either in this campaign or in the months leading up to it.

But it seems fair to note that Canada was not the only country to experience inflation after the pandemic and that there were significant global factors contributing to the problem. (An analysis by Scotiabank in December 2022 attributed 85 per cent of inflation in Canada to global factors and 15 per cent to the government's pandemic support programs.)

For now, the debate might focus on the details of Carney's $130-billion plan — and the question of exactly what Poilievre's Conservatives would do differently.

Read more of this story here.

CBC's Poll Tracker

Last Updated: April 20, 2025, at 9:23 a.m.

CBC's Poll Tracker, run by Éric Grenier of TheWrit.ca, has the latest polling numbers in the federal election campaign. You can click on the photo and check out the full website, complete with seat projections and the percentage chances of each party winning the election.

Here's the latest: It will take a few days before we see any impact from the debates show up in the polls, but as advance voting takes place this long weekend the Liberals hold a national lead that is large enough to make them the favourites to win the most seats — and probably a majority government.

The Conservatives are holding steady with more support than they've had in the last three elections, but it remains not enough as the Liberals are retaining the Bloc Québécois and NDP vote they have picked up since the beginning of the campaign.

Photo of the Day

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, right, gives four-year-old Lenora Carswell, centre, an Easter basket as her mom Emma looks on during the federal election campaign in Victoria on Sunday. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Ask Us

What do you want to know about the federal election? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.

People gather for the 'Elbows Up' rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa last month. (Amber Bracken/Reuters)

Listen of the day

This week on The House: Clashes and controversy as major party leaders squared off against each other in Montreal in both French and English. And behind the scenes, concerns over how the debates were managed by organizers. Party strategists share their thoughts on who came out on top and the future of the debates commission.

Plus, as parties drag their feet on unveiling how much their promises cost, a former federal budget watchdog explains why fully costed platforms matter and what it means when they’re unveiled so late in the campaign.

Listen to these interviews and more here.