With the Oct. 19 federal election just over a month away, the three major party leaders gathered in Calgary to debate their plans for the economy.
In addition to the expected exchanges on pipelines, taxes and infrastructure, the leaders found themselves defending their immigration policies, and proposals to help Syrian refugees.
The two-hour debate started off with a question to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper about what his jobs plan is, “beyond taking things out of the ground.”
Harper said his government has invested in training, reoriented immigration policy and signed new free trade agreements. He vowed protect the economy by keeping budgets balanced and taxes low.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair responded that Harper had “put all of his eggs in one basket” and then “dropped the basket.”
Mulcair said his party would “kick-start the economy” and “grow manufacturing” by dropping taxes on small- and medium-sized businesses.
Mulcair added that he would help families “balance your work life and family life” through the creation of a million affordable day care spaces, adding, “that will be good for women.”
Trudeau started off by asking, “Are you better off now than you were 10 years ago when Stephen Harper became prime minister?”
“I know that Canadians are worried about their jobs and that’s what this election is about: their jobs and the jobs their kids are going to have,” added the top Liberal.
Trudeau said he would “kick-start the economy” by investing in roads, clean water, transit and jobs by running three years of “modest deficits”
“If you think this economy is doing great, Mr. Harper is your guy,” added Trudeau.
Harper responded that he “never said things are great.”
“The last 10 years, where would you rather have been than Canada?” asked the Conservative leader. “Looking forward, where would you rather be than Canada?”
Energy and the environment
The next debate question went to Mulcair, who was asked to clarify his plan for reducing climate-change inducing carbon emissions.
The NDP leader said his plan for a cap-and-trade system would “make the polluter pay” and that it is the only way to guarantee an emissions reduction.
Mulcair also criticized the Harper government for what he called “a rip and ship approach” to Canada’s resources, proposing instead to “add value to our natural resources here.”
Trudeau, meanwhile, said he would move forward on “pricing carbon,” and promised to work with the provinces to reduce emissions rather than creating a new federal “bureaucracy.”
“Yes we need to get our resources to market,” Trudeau added, “but we need to move in a responsible way.”
Harper responded that his was the first government in history to “see a reduction in greenhouse gases while at the same time seeing the economy grow.”
“We didn’t do that through carbon taxes, principally because carbon taxes are not about reducing emissions, carbon taxes are about raising revenue for the government,” he said.
Harper added that the energy sector “is obviously having a significant downturn right now … and that sector needs a government that’s on its side.”
Immigration and refugees
The moderator threw the party leaders a question particularly important to new Canadians: “What is the right balance between economic migrants and those seeking family reunification?”
Harper emphasized that his government had reshaped the immigration system to focus it more on the “country’s interests,” by speeding up economic applicants.
Harper later added that family reunification immigration had grown by 10 per cent under his government, while he said the Liberals before him had “talked a good game but didn’t deliver.”
Trudeau said that the Conservatives are under-investing in family reunification, which he called “important to create strong communities.”
“There is more to (immigrants) than just workers,” Trudeau said. “They are community builders.”
Mulcair said Trudeau is right about family reunification. “It’s been completely shut down under Mr. Harper’s Conservatives,” he asserted, adding, “I personally believe the best social program is a united family.”
The conversation then shifted Canada’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Trudeau said Canada is “not doing enough.”
“Yes, we need to be concerned about security, but we don’t take that as an excuse to close our doors,” said the Liberal leader. “We need to once again be a generous, open country.”
One of the fiercest exchanges came after Harper asserted that “these guys would have, in the last two weeks, had us throwing open our borders and literally hundreds of thousands of people coming without any security checks.”
“We have a prime minister who prefers to pander to fears,” Trudeau interrupted. “That’s not right.”
“Mr. Harper unfortunately -- and it’s undignified -- is fear-mongering,” Mulcair said. “It’s completely false to affirm that any of the parties in Canada would want to throw open the doors to Canada without any regards to security.”
Harper said that his government has announced it will not only bring in more refugees, but will match donations from Canadians, adding the “vast majority of these millions of people will remain in their countries.”
Harper also came under fire after the debate wrapped up for his comments concerning the health care of immigrants and refugees.
The Conservative leader said his party has not "taken away" the benefits and only removed them when they found "bogus refugee claimants."
But it was the way that he described the distinction between immigrants and Canadian citizens that drew ire on social media.
"We do not offer them a better health care plan than the ordinary Canadian can receive," said Harper.
"That’s something new and old stock Canadians can agree with."
Canada's housing market
In the next segment, the candidates were asked what they would do to guard against a "housing bubble."
Trudeau said that far too many Canadians rely on their homes for their "economic security."
He added that Canada's needs to ensure that as housing prices rise, "incomes are rising as well."
"We need to reassure Canadians that the economy is going to grow at the same pace as their house values and that's not what Mr. Harper has delivered," said Trudeau.
Trudeau also said that rising house prices have made it difficult for Canadians to afford rental housing.
He promoted his party's plan to increase investment in home construction of rental units and to increase the guaranteed income supplement for seniors.
Trudeau also committed to "restoring" the long-form census to see if issues such as foreign home ownership merit further consideration.
In response, Mulcair criticized the Liberal party for cancelling Canada's "national housing strategy," and promised that affordable child care and his party's proposal for a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage could help young people who are struggling in to pay for housing in Canada's major cities.
Unlike his rivals, Harper disputed the fact that there is a housing crisis in the country.
The Conservative Leader said the growth in the market is a "very positive story" in comparison to other countries where financial crashes centred around housing.
"In Canada we have seen home ownership rise to record levels … because people have been able to take care of low interest rates when their job prospects have been solid and good, and their incomes have been growing," said Harper.
He added that the Conservative's promises to implement a home-renovation tax credit, improvements to the home buyers plan and double TFSAs.
The segment also saw Mulcair deliver a zinger about Trudeau’s policy on legalizing marijuana. (Mulcair has said he would decriminalize the drug instead).
In an effort to criticize Mulcair, Trudeau said that the NDP Leader's promises for investment amounted to "puffs of smoke."
To which Mulcair replied, "You'd know a lot about that."
The final portion of the debate also saw all three party leaders go to bat on the crux of the party's economic platform.
Trudeau promised to raise taxes on the wealthiest Canadians and end the Universal Child Care Benefit, which he said sees checks sent to "millionaires."
He added that Canadians are more in debt "than they've ever been" and he defended the party's plan to run "modest deficits" for three years.
The Liberal Leader said low interest rates and a "healthy" GDP-to-debt ratio provide mean that the conditions are optimal.
He may also have been the only candidate to mention Canada's First Nations.
Trudeau said they are an "important element in building our economy and making sure that were creating proper partnerships and moving our resources."
Trudeau also took shots at Harper and Mulcair for their plans to balance the budget.
He accused Mulcair of being dishonest and said he will have to break his spending.
Trudeau also said that under Harper's leadership the economy has been flat for 10 years and that he has lied to Canadians about balancing the budget over during his two terms.
"Mr. Harper you have run deficits in good years, you have run deficits in bad years -- the only time you said deficits aren’t going to be run is in election years," said Trudeau.
Meanwhile, Mulcair criticized Harper for losing 400,000 "well-paid manufacturing jobs."
He promised to make sure that Canada's large corporations "will go back to paying something resembling their fair share."
Mulcair said the best way to kick-start Canada's economy is to reduce taxes on small and mediums sized businesses.
The NDP Leader also said he would also close stock loop holes and tax havens for the richest Canadians.
However, Harper said that the NDP track record is unproven. He said NDP provincial governments in Ontario, B.C., and Alberta have promised to balance the budget through tax increases and have instead ended up with job losses.
The Conservative Leader said that only his party is capable of delivering the kind of plan that can guide Canada through an "unstable world."
"We're making sure there's more money in people's pockets, and we are the only party not talking about raising any of taxes going forward or running deficits," said Harper.
He added that while Canada's oil industry has been hit hard by falling prices, under his watch the country's economy has not been solely reliant on the oil sands.
"We have to operate on a longer-term plan ... it's not just about resources, but it is also including resources," said Harper.
