Canada PM pauses campaign events after festival tragedy
Promit Mukherjee and Allison Lampert |
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has paused election campaigning after at least nine people were killed when a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver.
Sunday is the final day for Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to make their pitches to voters ahead of an election on Monday that has centred largely on US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to annex Canada.
It was too early to tell if a mass casualty event in Vancouver would have any impact on the election.
At least nine people were killed and others injured when a man drove into a large crowd attending a street festival late on Saturday, police said.
In posts on social media, Carney offered condolences and Poilievre said his thoughts were with Vancouver’s Filipino community after the “horrific” news coming out of the festival.
The Conservative Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment about a rally Poilievre has scheduled in Oakville, Ontario, on Sunday.
Carney had spent Saturday in the most populous province of Ontario, arguing he was best placed to steer Canada through a crisis triggered by Trump’s tariffs, while Poilievre has emphasised the need for change after almost a decade of Liberal rule under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Carney, a two-time central banker and former college hockey goalie who took over after Trudeau resigned, referred to the country’s most popular sport as he campaigned ahead of Monday’s election.
“We are in the equivalent of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup in the last two minutes,” Carney, 60, said, referring to the National Hockey League championship.
In posts on social media, Carney later offered condolences and Poilievre said his thoughts were with Vancouver’s Filipino community after the “horrific” news coming out of the festival.
Pollsters say Carney’s Liberal Party holds a narrow lead in popular support ahead of final voting, after Trump slapped tariffs on Canada and repeatedly referred to the once-close ally as the 51st US state.
Trump’s comments enraged Canadians and reversed Poilievre’s lead in the polls, as the Liberals compared him to Trump.
Poilievre’s promises of change and pledges to curb living costs have resonated with young men, leading to large crowds at rallies.
“We can’t afford four more years of the Liberals,” Poilievre told supporters in British Columbia on Saturday as they cheered “bring it home” and waved placards reading “change”.
Carney, who has distanced himself from Trudeau’s policies since taking over in March, has attracted mainly older voters to rallies.
Voters in suburban Toronto waited more than two hours in a cold, windy airport hangar on Saturday to hear him speak, waving placards reading “Canada Strong” and “Elbows up”, a hockey phrase used by Canadians to signify resisting Trump.
Trump generated headlines on the campaign trail recently after saying the US did not need Canadian-made autos, and he might increase tariffs on them.
Carney said his ideas for large infrastructure projects and eliminating trade barriers among the provinces by July would create leverage for Canada when the country kicked off trade talks with the US after the election.
“We show the Americans that we’re not waiting for the phone to ring. We have other work to do,” Carney said.
Reuters
