Election 2025: Campaign Roundup - Day 20

Welcome to Day 20 of Canada Minute’s 2025 Campaign Roundup!

With the 2025 Canadian federal election now finally underway, we'll be bringing you daily updates on all the policy proclamations, platform promises, and political point-scoring from the campaign trail.

Campaign Roundup - Day 20:

• Liberal Leader Mark Carney unveiled a public safety and economic plan focused on cracking down on gun crime, vehicle theft, and organized crime by recruiting 1,000 more RCMP officers, revoking gun licences from violent offenders, and improving the firearms buyback program. He also pledged criminal penalties for obstructing access to schools and places of worship, and stronger oversight of firearms licensing.
  
  
• Carney also addressed the economic fallout from President Trump’s tariffs, vowing to put Canada in the strongest possible position for post-election negotiations with the US. He emphasized Canada's strategy of retaliation, protection, and rebuilding in response to the ongoing trade war, while opposition leaders criticized his lack of influence over Trump. Formal Canada-US trade talks are set to begin in May.
  
  
• Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre affirmed that a Conservative government would not re-open the abortion debate, stating he guarantees no laws restricting abortion will be passed under his leadership. He emphasized that the party's pro-choice stance has been consistent since 2004 and will be reiterated in the 2025 platform.
  
  
• Poilievre also took to social media to express concern about layoffs of Canadian auto workers. He spoke with the union representing the workers and expressed his commitment to keeping Canadian workers working, despite the tariffs. Poilievre pledged to axe the GST on Canadian-made cars and provide temporary liquidity to companies affected by the tariffs through a Keep Canadians Working Fund.
  
  
• NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging Canadians to prevent either the Liberals or Conservatives from winning a majority, arguing that Ottawa works best when New Democrats can hold the powerful to account. Singh has shifted focus from seeking the prime ministership to securing enough seats to influence a minority government and push progressive policies. Despite poor polling, he emphasized past NDP achievements like dental care and pharmacare, and vowed to fight for priorities such as health care funding, rent control, and tax fairness.