Poilievre pledges veterans’ supports; Carney offers cheaper access to parks, museums

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a campaign stop at Ontario Shipyards in St. Catharines, Ont., Friday, April 11, 2025. Poilievre is slated to hold a press conference in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean, where Liberal Leader Mark Carney is campaigning to win a seat. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promised to cut red tape and step up support for veterans Saturday, while Liberal Leader Mark Carney pledged to make visiting national parks and museums more affordable for Canadian families.

Poilievre unveiled his party’s plan for veterans during a press conference in Nepean, the suburban Ottawa community that contains the neighbouring ridings where he and Carney are running.

Carney did not have any public events scheduled. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s itinerary shows he will hold an evening event in Timmins, Ont.

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Poilievre is vying for re-election in the riding of Carleton, where Saturday’s announcement took place, while Carney is carrying the Liberal banner in the Nepean riding.

Poilievre said his party would ensure military veterans’ disability applications are automatically approved if they’re not processed within four months.

Veterans have long complained about a backlog in getting those applications approved, resulting in delays in payments for those leaving active service.

“Veterans that have sacrificed so much to defend our country deserve to have us all championing them,” Poilievre said.

“In return for that sacrifice, Canada’s veterans deserve a government that fights for them. That’s a core part of the Canadian promise. But after the lost Liberal decade, the government has failed our veterans.”

Veterans Affairs Canada has set a target of processing disability claims within 16 weeks, but in 2023-24 the department only met that standard 69 per cent of the time. Its goal is to reach the 16-week target 80 per cent of the time.

The department says the backlog of claims has decreased by 75 per cent since 2020.

There were more than 5,000 veterans whose cases were still backlogged at the end of the 2024 fiscal year.

Poilievre also said his party would give veterans control over their medical records and let military doctors assess injuries using a standardized system, as well as ensure people are able to get service dogs for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The party is pledging to make the educational and training benefit available to Armed Forces members as soon as they get their release date.

Poilievre made the announcement flanked by Conservative candidate Barbara Bal, a former Armed Forces member running against Carney in Nepean.

Poilievre said the Liberals left veterans “stranded,” while a government led by him would put them first.

He said that would include giving veterans preference in bidding for federal contracts and providing them with documentation to have their trades skills recognized outside the military.

Without any official campaign event for their leader, the Liberals issued a news release announcing a “Canada strong” pass, which the party said aims to help Canadians take advantage of domestic attractions if they opt not to travel to the United States.

The pass, which would be available from June to August if the Liberals form government, would give those under 18 free access to national galleries and museums, as well as free seats on Via Rail trains when travelling with their parents. Discounted access would also be available for those between 18 and 24, the news release says.

The party also said it would make it cheaper for all Canadians to go camping in national parks in the summer, but did not indicate how much it planned to slash prices. The overall cost of the pass was not immediately available.

“At a time when our economy is under attack from President Trump, Canadians are celebrating our beautiful country,” Carney said in the statement announcing the pass.

“Whether it’s trips to national parks and historic sites, spending the day at a national art gallery or museum, or hiking Canadian trails, my new government will help the next generation discover all Canada has to offer this summer.”

Instead of spending the day campaigning, Carney revealed on X that he met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Saturday morning. A read-out note from the Prime Minister’s Office said the leaders discussed strengthening Euro-Atlantic security, continuing to support Ukraine and bolstering military readiness and burden-sharing.

Carney’s absence from the campaign trail drew criticism from Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, who said during a stop in Trois Rivereires, Que., that Carney was “hiding again.”

Carney paused his campaign on Thursday to resume his duties as prime minister in response to trade-war tumult. He spent Friday in Ottawa for a meeting with his Canada-U.S. cabinet.

“I believe that Mr. Carney is trying to get a free ride,” Blanchet told reporters. “He got a lot of momentum at the beginning of the campaign.”

Blanchet also accused the Liberals and Carney of neglecting aluminum sector workers and vowed to push for measures to help them.

Speaking in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Que., the centre of Canadian aluminum production, Blanchet told reporters Carney was focused on Ontario’s automobile industry over Quebec’s aluminum sector.

Blanchet said Ottawa should allocate the funds from its retaliatory tariffs imposed on the United States in response to American tariffs on aluminum to this industry. Steel is also subject to a surtax.

Carney has repeatedly promised to help all Canadian workers directly impacted by the trade war. But the Bloc notes for the automotive sector, the Liberal leader has promised to establish a $2-billion dollar strategic fund.

As the election heads into the home stretch leading up to the April 28 vote, party leaders are looking ahead to televised debates next week in Montreal.

A French-language debate is scheduled for Wednesday, while an English-language one will take place on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2025.

-- With files from Jim Bronskill in Ottawa, Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal and Emilie Bergeron in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Que.