Carney pauses campaign to return to Ottawa ahead of U.S. tariffs

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The federal election campaign will once again turn the spotlight on U.S. President Donald Trump with the announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on Wednesday, which he has called “Liberation Day.”

After a day of campaigning in Manitoba, Liberal Leader Mark Carney is heading back to Ottawa, where he will hold meetings ahead of the U.S. tariff announcement. The campaign itineraries of the other party leaders have not been publicly released.

Day 10 of the campaign saw three candidates—two Conservatives and one Liberal—leave the race over controversial comments.

Liberal candidate Paul Chiang announced he was withdrawing his re-election bid in the riding of Markham-Unionville over comments he made in the past about a Conservative candidate. He said he did “not want there to be distractions in this critical moment.”

Hours later, the Conservative Party said that Mark McKenzie, who was running to represent the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, will no longer be a candidate. The move comes after CTV News obtained an audio recording of a 2022 podcast appearance in which McKenzie voiced his support for “public hangings.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Stefan Marquis, who was running for the Conservatives in the Montreal riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie, was dropped by the party. He said a party representative informed him that his recent social media posts were “sufficient reason to end our political collaboration.” Late Tuesday night, Lourence Singh was removed as the Conservative candidate for New Westminster-Burnaby-Mailardville.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in St. John’s, N.L., where he promised to enact a set of five demands from Canada’ energy sector, including streamlining regulation of projects and ending the emissions cap and the industrial carbon price.

In Edmonton, Alta., NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pledged that Canada’s health-care system would not be for sale if he forms government and ban American corporations from buying Canadian health-care facilities.

Here’s a recap of what happened on Day 10 of the federal election campaign:

10 p.m. EDT: 3rd Conservative candidate won’t run in election

CTV News has learned a third Conservative candidate will no longer be running for the party in the federal election. Lourence Singh was the Conservative candidate for New Westminster-Burnaby-Maillardville.

In a statement, a campaign spokesperson said, “Mr. Lourence Singh will not be a candidate for the Conservative Party,” but did not elaborate further.

Early Tuesday, Mark McKenzie was disqualified from running as the Conservative candidate in Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore after CTV News obtained audio of him voicing support for “public hangings,” even joking that former prime minister Justin Trudeau should receive the death penalty.

Later in the afternoon, Stefan Marquis — who was running for the Conservatives in the Montreal riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie, announced in a post on social media the party had removed him.Parties have until April 7 to nominate candidates.

Bryann Aguilar, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist. With files from Stephanie Ha and Spencer Van Dyk.

7:30 p.m. EDT: Singh meets Manitoba premier

Right after touching down in Winnipeg, the NDP campaign bus brought Leader Jagmeet Singh to the Manitoba legislature for a meeting with Premier Wab Kinew.

Only a pool camera crew was allowed inside, but reporters waiting for the photo-op to end could view the tape as it was being fed back to bureaus.

Kinew said that there was “lots going on” with a “big tariff day” ahead tomorrow.

Singh said he is on the same page with his provincial counterpart when it comes to the need to protect people’s jobs.

The premier then showed Singh an exhibit celebrating Sikh Heritage Month before stating, “Shall we get to it?”

Kinew then quipped that Singh is “rolling with a whole entourage these days.”

Earlier in the day, the premier also welcomed Liberal Leader Mark Carney to the provincial legislature.

Rachel Aiello, National Correspondent

7 p.m. EDT: Carney returning to Ottawa ahead of new U.S. tariffs

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is returning to Ottawa tonight ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs.

Carney campaigned in Manitoba on Tuesday, where he highlighted previous campaign promises, including the elimination of the consumer carbon tax and eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers.

This is the second time Carney is taking a detour from the campaign to deal with American tariffs. Last week, after Trump announced auto tariffs, Carney cancelled his campaign events in Quebec and travelled to Ottawa, where he convened his cabinet to discuss how Canada would respond.

Carney has said that Canada would counter any U.S. tariffs announced tomorrow, which Trump has called “Liberation Day.”The White House has declined to provide further details ahead of Wednesday’s announcement.

Bryann Aguilar, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist. With files from CTV News national correspondent Judy Trinh and The Associated Press

6 p.m. EDT: Conservatives ‘rock solid’ in Prairies; Liberals make ‘massive’ gains elsewhere

Mark Carney’s Liberals have essentially picked up a point a day during the first part of the election campaign so far, said CTV News’ pollster Nik Nanos in the latest episode of CTV News Trend Line.

Nanos ballot tracking released today has the Liberals with a nine-point advantage over the Conservatives.

Nanos points out it was a few months ago in January when the Conservatives were way ahead with 47 per cent ballot support before former prime minister Justin Trudeau had stepped down – his Liberals trailing with barely 20 per cent support.

He said the Liberal comeback--since Mark Carney took the helm and U.S. President Donald Trump began a trade war—was likely fuelled by former Liberal supporters who were fed up with the party. “Those were the first to come back, but what we’ve seen is Liberals squeezing the NDP, the Bloc in Quebec and the Greens.”

He added the NDP is at a low point that we haven’t seen in more than a decade. “For them to be at 10 per cent, they could lose their party status if this trend continues,” said Nanos, adding that if the New Democrats have a poor showing in the election “it’ll be bad news for the federal Conservatives” -- who won’t have the advantage of a split vote dividing the left.

Nanos also pointed out that more than 82 per cent of Canadians are voting for the two main parties in this election. “It’s kind of like a consolidation of the political menu to two choices that people are really focused on today.”

Phil Hahn, CTVNews.ca election editor-in-chief

Watch the full episode of Trend Line here:

On the trail: scenes at Carney’s meet and greet

On a brisk Monday afternoon, Mark Carney’s campaign bus pulled up outside the St. George restaurant and pub in the quaint municipality of Georgetown, Ont. The town has a population of 45,000 people and is a 45-minute drive west of Toronto.

Outside waiting to see Carney was about a crowd of 50 to 60 people who couldn’t get inside the pub, which was filled to capacity. But this wasn’t a completely friendly crowd. A man walking his dog bellowed in the direction of broadcast cameras.

Also waiting a small group of citizen bloggers who post videos on social media and show up at candidate events to shout questions or insults. Among this group was a protestor wearing a black puffer coat with a patch depicting a red and white maple leaf skull design. He carried a bullhorn.

Carney spent about a half hour inside the pub, where he urged supporters to stand up against U.S. President Donald Trump and vote for him.

After a half hour, Carney left through a side door of the restaurant. Before he got in the bus, he took a few moments to pose for selfies.

The skull patch protester continued his barrage of complaints, blaming Carney and the Liberals for “tent cities” and “taxes on taxes.”

A man who came to see Carney, called the protestor a “moron,” while others started chanting “Carney, Carney” to drown him out.

READ MORE: Anatomy of a Carney meet and greet at a Georgetown watering hole

Judy Trinh, CTV News national correspondent

3:45 p.m. EDT: Singh knocking doors in Edmonton, talking housing

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is out knocking on doors in the riding of Edmonton Strathcona, with his incumbent candidate Heather McPherson.

The focus of this campaign event is to talk to voters about the cost of housing.

This specific townhome row of 160 homes was chosen, the party says, because it was affordable housing with below average rents.

But then it was bought up by what the party described as a “corporate landlord” that started hiking rents by as much as $500 a month.

This comes as the party is trying to hold the two seats in the city they currently have -- this riding and Blake Desjarlais’ riding of Edmonton Greisbach, while also angling to pick up Edmonton Centre -- where well-known former school board trustee Trisha Estabrooks is the candidate and has been for more than a year.

Singh held an event at her campaign office last night and she spoke about how this was her second winter hitting the doorsteps here, as she tries to turn what was Liberal Randy Boissonault’s riding, orange.

Rachel Aiello, National Correspondent

3:35 p.m. EDT: Another Conservative candidate out of the race

The Conservatives have dropped a second candidate in the election race, in a single day.

Stefan Marquis — who was running for the Conservatives in the Montreal riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie, held by Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault since 2019 — wrote in a post on social media that he is no longer a candidate for the party.

“In a call received this morning from one of Quebec’s operations managers for the party, I was told without further note that ‘certain’ individuals within the party had consulted my recent posts on Twitter-X and deemed these sufficient reason to end our political collaboration,” Marquis wrote on X, along with a cartoon image of a hand pressing a button on a person’s head to get them to speak. “The call lasted less than a minute.”

Recent social media posts by Marquis promote popular right-wing conspiracy theories, including that Bill Gates is trying to manipulate public health for profit through vaccines, and that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “provoked” by the expansion of NATO.

He also criticized Canada’s equalization payment system, calling Quebec “a disgrace,” and adding “Plateau snobs, ecocrats and other shameless socialists should be put on galleys for impoverishing us into the pit.”

Read the full story here.

Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News parliamentary bureau writer and producer

3:33 p.m. EDT: Smith takes aim at Carney for ‘flip-flopping’

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is taking aim at Liberal Leader Mark Carney, accusing him of privately telling her he wouldn’t support export taxes on oil, while publicly supporting the move.

“We have a prime minister right now who says one thing in English, one thing in French, one thing in Eastern Canada, one thing to Western Canada, one thing to me, and then one thing when he’s asked by the media,” Smith said during a news conference Tuesday.

“So I don’t actually know what this prime minister is going to do. I’m not encouraged by that flip flopping so far, but we’ll see what happens after this next election.”

Smith said she’d give whoever wins the election six months “to make good on trying to address some of those critical problems for Alberta” when asked whether the Alberta government would put a secession referendum on a ballot. However she also said “no, I can’t foresee that” in answer to the same question.

Smith also defended her recent trip to the U.S. to meet with right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro, saying that it is part of the “Team Canada” approach which she said all the premiers agreed to -- using every contact possible to help make Canada’s case.

READ MORE: In front of U.S. audience, Smith blames Trudeau-Carney ‘switcheroo’ for Liberal popularity

“He’s got an audience in all of 25 million (people). We had a very constructive conversation,” Smith said, noting that Shapiro spent much of his time the next day talking about why he’s against tariffs.

When it comes to tariffs, Smith said that while “it’s hard to predict the U.S. president,” she’s fairly confident oil and gas will not be included in the new U.S. tariffs being unveiled this week.

READ MORE: ‘It’s a garbage poll’: Danielle Smith criticizes survey suggesting Canadians support retaliatory tariffs on oil and gas

“What I’ve heard from different ministry or different administration officials, is that it looks like it’s just going to be sectoral application for the most part, and then they talk about reciprocal tariffs,” Smith said. “And so we don’t have any tariffs on their oil and gas. So I’m assuming that means that they’re not going to have tariffs on our oil and gas.”

Joshua Freeman, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist

3:20 p.m. EDT: Carney speaks with Mexico’s president on ‘Liberation Day’ eve

On the eve of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and discussed “the importance of building upon the strong trading and investment relationship.”

According to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, the call was “productive.”

“With challenging times ahead, Prime Minister Carney and President Sheinbaum emphasized the importance of safeguarding North American competitiveness while respecting the sovereignty of each nation,” the readout stated.

During the call, Carney told Sheinbaum that he plans to fight any unjustified trade actions against Canada and build the economy, which could include increased trade with Mexico.

“The leaders agreed that ministers and senior officials will continue to work together to advance shared priorities,” the readout stated, adding that the two leaders agreed to remain in close contact.

Trump is expected to announce new tariffs on trading partners tomorrow, which he has called as “Liberation Day.”

Bryann Aguilar, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist

READ MORE: Carney speaks with Mexican president about United States’ ‘unjustified’ trade war

2:28 p.m. EDT: Conservative Party ‘aware of’ podcast comments: McKenzie

Speaking to CTV News on Tuesday, former Conservative candidate Mark McKenzie said he is “disappointed that the party is deciding to go in a different direction” and said he is “sorry” despite also saying his comments “have been taken out of context.”

Now that I’m actually walking in those shoes. I am a politician now. I’m an elected official. Looking back, you know, I shouldn’t have said that, but again, it was very much taken out of context,” McKenzie said.

The Windsor city councillor, who was running to represent Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, was removed by the party this morning after CTV News obtained audio of him previously voicing support for “public hangings.”

When asked whether the party knew about his comments prior to CTV News’ story, McKenzie said he “had heard that the party was aware of it” during the nomination process, adding that he had disclosed his podcast in his application and that the audio was previously released back in 2022 when he was running for city council.

According to McKenzie, party officials – including campaign manager Jenni Byrne – contacted him Tuesday morning following CTV News’ reporting to say they had heard his comments while also asking him to send the audio. Within minutes after the phone call, he said, he was told he would no longer be the candidate.

The now former Conservative candidate tells CTV News he has reached out to the party in hopes of speaking with Leader Pierre Poilievre.

The Conservative leader was asked about the incident this morning and said, “we fired him, he’s gone.”

Read the full story here.

Stephanie Ha, supervising producer, Ottawa News Bureau

2:25 p.m. EDT: RCMP looking into Chiang remarks

The RCMP says it is “looking into matter” involving former Liberal candidate Paul Chiang who suggested people should try to collect a Chinese bounty on Conservative candidate Joe Tay.

While the national police are looking into the case, RCMP spokesperson Andrew DiRienzo, in an email statement to CTV News, said there is currently no formal investigation underway.

“If there are criminal or illegal activities occurring in Canada that are found to be backed by a foreign state, it is within the RCMP’s mandate to investigate this activity,” DiRienzo wrote.

Read the full story here.

Stephanie Ha, supervising producer, Ottawa News Bureau

1 p.m. EDT: Trump to unveil reciprocal tariffs tomorrow

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was tight-lipped on tariff plans for so-called “Liberation Day” tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, she said U.S. President Donald Trump was meeting with his tariff team earlier today. He will unveil the scope of reciprocal tariffs, which are expected to affect several countries, tomorrow.

Once announced, she predicted the tariffs will be effective immediately.

The tariffs are supposed to be measured against other countries’ existing trade barriers. Asked if there was still time for countries to reduce those barriers and avoid tariffs, Leavitt said the president is “always up to take a phone call.”

Trump is expected to speak Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m.

Luca Caruso-Moro, digital breaking news assignment editor

12:00 p.m. EDT: Carney asked about Paul Chiang resignation

Liberal Leader Mark Carney says the party is moving on to find a new candidate in the Ontario riding of Markham—Unionville after the resignation of incumbent Paul Chiang, but didn’t say why he chose to stand by the candidate or whether he considers the issue a “teachable moment.”

Chiang announced on social media late Monday night that he is “stepping aside” as the candidate in the riding he’s held since 2021, after it came to light that he suggested earlier this year that people should try to claim a Chinese bounty on a Conservative candidate.

Despite calls for Carney to remove Chiang as a candidate — including from the Conservative candidate Joe Tay who said he contacted the RCMP because he feared for his safety — the leader defended him on Monday, calling the comments “deeply offensive,” and a “terrible lapse in judgement,” but still allowing him to run.

“Mr. Chiang made his resignation, offered his resignation last night. I accepted it. As I said yesterday, his comments were deeply, deeply troubling and regrettable,” Carney said following a factory tour in Winnipeg on Tuesday, without commenting further on the issue.

He said the party will be moving on to look for a new candidate.

The Liberal leader didn’t lay out any new promises at the event, instead highlighting previous campaign commitments, including cancelling the consumer carbon tax, to deliver a middle-class tax cut, double home-building, eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on some homes, and expand dental coverage.

Carney also focused most of his comments on U.S. President Donald Trump, who’s expected to lay out a reciprocal-tariff regime on Wednesday.

Carney said Canada will be “very deliberate” with its countermeasures.

“We, of course, will be looking with interest what is announced tomorrow. As I also mentioned to the president, and was very clear, we will respond to additional measures,” he said. “So we will put in place retaliatory measures if there are additional measures put against Canada tomorrow.”

Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News Ottawa National Bureau writer, producer

11:30 a.m. EDT: NDP vow to ban U.S. corporations from buying Canadian healthcare facilities

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says that if he was the prime minister, he would ban American corporations from buying Canadian healthcare facilities.

Speaking at a community centre in Edmonton alongside frontline health workers, Singh is outlining his plan to “stop U.S.-style privatization in its tracks and protect public healthcare from Trump’s trade agenda.”

The NDP’s campaign commitments to this effect include blocking “Trump-style trade deals” from putting Canadian healthcare on the negotiating table and prohibiting U.S.-owned companies from purchasing Canadian facilities.

Singh is also promising to strengthen and enforce the Canada Health Act, to prohibit any further “cash-for-care” clinics, and make full enforcement of public healthcare standards a condition of federal health funding.

Notably, in the province she leads politically, the NDP are taking direct aim at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in their news release today, stating Singh would “go after” provinces that “privatize care,” pointing to Smith’s government as an example.

Rachel Aiello, National Correspondent

10:10 a.m. EDT: Poilievre slams Carney, touts energy plan

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at Liberal Leader Mark Carney during a campaign stop in St. John’s N.L., saying his refusal to dismiss Paul Chiang as a candidate shows that he continues to have “foreign conflicts.”

“The candidate stepped aside himself, not being pushed out by Carney, but because he decided on his own,” Poilievre said. “Mr. Carney will never put our country first. He will always put himself first.”

He did not comment on the departure of one of his own candidates this morning.

Poilievre blamed the Liberals for Canada’s dependence on the U.S and touted his own plan to get Canadian energy to other markets more easily.

He said that if elected, the Conservatives would repeal laws preventing pipelines and tankers; speed up approvals for resource projects; scrap the energy cap; do away with the industrial carbon tax; and establish a corporation to offer loan guarantees for Indigenous communities.

Joshua Freeman, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist

8:40 a.m. EDT: Conservative candidate booted over ‘public hangings’ comment

A Conservative candidate who once voiced his support for “public hangings” – even joking that former prime minister Justin Trudeau should receive the death penalty, will no longer be running to represent the party after CTV News first obtained audio of his comments.

“The comments are clearly unacceptable. Mr. McKenzie will not be the Conservative candidate,” a Conservative campaign spokesperson told CTV News in statement on Tuesday morning.

Mark McKenzie - who sits as a city councillor in Windsor, Ont. - was running to represent the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore. In 2022, he made remarks in a now-defunct comedy podcast.

Read the full story here.

Stephanie Ha, supervising producer, Ottawa News Bureau and Vassy Kapelos, CTV News chief political correspondent

7:25 a.m. EDT. Liberal candidate drops out of race

A Liberal candidate who suggested people should try to collect a Chinese bounty on a Conservative candidate has dropped out of the race following mounting criticism.

Paul Chiang had been seeking re-election in the GTA riding of Markham-Unionville, but came under fire after comments he made to Chinese-language media in January resurfaced.

In those comments he suggested that Joe Tay, wanted in Hong Kong for violating the controversial National Security Law, should be turned over to the Chinese consulate in Toronto.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney defended Chiang Monday, saying he had apologized. However the Conservatives and NDP criticized Carney for allowing him to continue as a candidate.

Chiang issued a statement shortly before midnight, stepping aside and saying he did not want there to be “distractions in this critical moment.”

Carney is expected to face questions about the overnight resignation when he makes a campaign stop in Winnipeg later this morning.

Read the full story here.

Joshua Freeman, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist

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Meanwhile, here’s a recap of what happened on Day 9 of the campaign.

Poilievre stands by campaign as Liberals take the lead

The Conservative leader started the week trailing Carney’s Liberals by eight points, according to a new Nanos Research poll. A three-day rolling sample ending March 30 has Mark Carney’s Liberals at 44 per cent, leading Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, who are at 36 per cent.

READ MORE: Carney’s Liberals open up 8-point lead over Poilievre’s Conservatives in latest Nanos tracking

On Monday, the Tory leader defended his team and strategy following criticisms that he should centre his campaign around the threats coming from Trump. Poilievre said he has no plans to stop focusing on “the lost Liberal decade.”

In an interview with BNN Bloomberg, the Conservative leader said his campaign team was “united.”

What was promised

Carney announced that a Liberal government would create a new federal housing entity as part of his plan to double Canada’s rate of residential construction housing over the next decade.

READ MORE: Liberals promise to build nearly 500,000 homes per year, create new housing entity

Poilievre promised that a Tory government would fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines and other infrastructure projects and create a national energy corridor.

READ MORE: Conservatives promise national energy corridor to speed approval of key projects

Meanwhile, Singh announced that his government would end the consumer carbon tax “for good” and eliminate public subsidies and tax breaks for oil and gas companies, redirecting that money to retrofit more than 3 million homes.

READ MORE: NDP pitches energy-saving upgrades for homeowners

Voters’ insight

Most Canadians support Carney disclosing the financial assets he has placed in a blind trust while in office and Poilievre getting a security clearance to receive intelligence reports, according to new data from Nanos Research.

The two leaders have been pressed over those respective issues, including pressure from each other, with both accusing their opponent of “hiding” things from Canadians.

In another Nanos Research survey, three out of four Canadians are in favour of putting tariffs on oil, natural gas, electricity, potash, and other critical minerals if the U.S. goes ahead with tariffs.

Bryann Aguilar, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist, with files from CTVNews.ca election desk and The Canadian Press

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on trading partners are set to take effect on April 2, a day he has proclaimed as “Liberation Day” for American trade. CTV News will have extensive coverage across all platforms:

• CTVNews.ca will have in-depth coverage, real-time updates, and expert analysis on what the tariffs will mean for Canadians.
• CP24.com will report on any developments out of Queen’s Park and what the tariffs mean for the people of the GTHA.
• BNNBloomberg.ca will explain what this means for the business community, investors, and the market.