Day twenty-four, and the announcements didn’t really matter because the only thing anyone was concerned about was the fact that tonight’s French debate was at the same time as a Montreal Canadiens hockey game, and the Bloc and NDP demanded the debate be rescheduled (but when exactly, given that it’s Easter weekend and that’s when the advance polls are open). So, the organizers and the networks agreed to change the time to 6 from 8, which means that it’ll be on at 3 for anyone out in BC. Yeah, that’s going to get viewership by francophones in the west. We are such a parochial country sometimes.

Mark Carney was in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, and announced a plan to provide more assistance for job training or retraining in certain priority areas, with some additional promises for those whose jobs are affected by the tariffs. Carney will have a photo op in Montreal around noon before the debate, now two hours earlier.

Pierre Poilievre was in Montreal, and he announced plans to crack down on people who scam seniors, which means forcing phone companies and banks to have mandatory “scam detection systems,” which sounds a bit like a magic wand given that the field is constantly changing to keep one step ahead. I also fail to see what tougher penalties will do given that the vast majority of these scams operate overseas. Poilievre will hold a press conference this morning, in advance of the debate.

Do we need to have a conversation about why those prices are up? -Beef continues to rise because drought has meant culling herds, which raises prices-Eggs are up because we have bird flu outbreaks, albeit not as bad as the US-That fruit figure is mostly oranges, because the FL crop was devastated

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-04-15T19:02:03.936Z

Are the Conservatives planning to do anything about climate change that has meant more droughts on the prairies? Nope. Part of what devastated the Floria orange crop were hurricanes, which are exacerbated by climate change. Again, do they want to do anything about that? Nope.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-04-15T19:02:03.937Z

Now, have the Liberals pointed any of this out? Of course not. They're too busy patting themselves on the back for killing the consumer carbon levy, and pretending that it was imposed by some mysterious force. We have real issues to discuss in this election, but they're not being discussed.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-04-15T19:02:03.938Z

Jagmeet Singh was also in Montreal, where he promised to restore the changes to the capital gains inclusion rate, under the rubric of making the ultra-wealthy pay the price, and promising to use these revenues to fund all of his promises (good luck with that magical money tree), but didn’t actually spell out the actual issue of tax arbitrage and fairness for all different types of capital gains to be taxed at the same rate. Singh’s only engagement today is the debate.

In other campaign news, Poilievre is now saying there’s no timeline for defunding CBC after previously saying he wants to do so as soon as possible. Carney says that he wants the F-35 review to go swiftly, but DND is still establishing the parameters of said exercise. And the White House confirmed that annexation talk is still on the president’s mind.

This election is *really* testing my limit.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-04-15T21:35:48.964Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian drones hit homes on Odesa overnight, injuring at least three. This after NATO secretary general Mark Rutte was in Odesa to reaffirm “unwavering” support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, life in Sumy is carrying on after Sunday’s deadly attacks.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1912116063560495426

Good reads:

• François-Philippe Champagne announced that automakers that continue to manufacture in Canada can be exempted from counter-tariffs.
• There was panic after a Japanese newspaper reported that Honda was planning to pull out of Canada to avoid tariffs, which Honda subsequently denied.
• South Korea is hoping to sell Canada on their KF-21 fighters as a suitable replacement for the F-35 (and it’s twin-engine!)
• The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge of the federal government’s ban on “assault-style” rifles.
• For all of their attacks on Brookfield about setting up funds in tax havens, several Conservative incumbents have direct investments in those funds.
• Retiring Conservative MP Ed Fast is supporting Mike de Jong as an independent candidate in his riding, saying that the Conservative nomination was a sham.
• Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, Ian Brodie, told the Manning Conference that they need to rapidly cut the civil service to achieve de-regulation.
• The Speech from the Throne was read in Ontario’s legislature, focusing on slogans about Canada not being for sale, and so on.
• Danielle Smith has tabled legislation that is likely unconstitutional that allows for forced addiction treatment (which I doubt will actually be adequately funded).
• For Maclean’s, the head of trust and safety at Bluesky talks about online disinformation and efforts platforms like his are taking to combat it.
• Dan Gardner points to how the White House is now behaving like the court of King Louis XVI, with all of the arbitrary powers it entailed.
• Susan Delacourt marvels at just how many small-c conservatives are not on Poilievre’s side in this election.
• Andrew Coyne posits that Poilievre’s proposed use of the Notwithstanding Clause is not about multiple murders, it’s about an excuse to eviscerate the Charter.
• My column points to the broader problem that those trolling buttons planted at the Manning conference represents, and why it’s poisoning our politics.

Odds and ends:

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-04-15T22:59:11.912Z

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