Liberal leadership contenders vow to hit back at Trump's tariff threat in final debate
Debate was largely congenial, with harshest words reserved for Poilievre
The four Liberal leadership contenders squared off in the only English-language debate in this short race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday night and talk of how to defend the country from an increasingly aggressive U.S. President Donald Trump dominated the two-hour discussion.
The debate was a largely congenial affair and the harshest words were reserved for their main opponent in the upcoming federal election, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who the candidates in this race branded as a Trump-like figure who isn't well equipped to take on the president given some political similarities.
There were some points of difference, however, on how far each of the candidates were willing to go in criticizing the outgoing Trudeau.
With Canada staring down the prospect of devastating U.S. tariffs and unprecedented threats to its sovereignty, the first half of the debate was consumed by talk of what the country should do to fight back against an increasingly belligerent Trump.
The contenders largely agreed with one another on the prescription to Canada's current problems: hit back at Trump with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs if he starts a trade war to try and get him to back down, build up the Canadian economy and strengthen the military by spending more on defence faster than the government's existing plan.
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney said he helped lead Canada through the Great Recession of 2008-09 and he's prepared to steer the country through another economic crisis that could come if Trump moves ahead with a 25 per cent tariff as promised.
"You need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiation skills but you also need economic expertise," Carney said. "This is a crisis."
Carney said Canada can't control what Trump does but it can control how it manages its own economy and he's promising to boost economic output after years of sluggish growth under the current Liberal government, a thinly veiled swipe at Freeland, who also served as finance minister.
"Canadians have been telling me they want change — I can bring that change," he said, promising to make Canada an "energy superpower" and a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) by fostering a more business-friendly investment climate.
"We will seize this moment to win for Canada. I love our country. Canada has given me everything — my family, my education, my values and in return I'm ready to give everything for Canada," he said.
Carney warned it's not just an economic fight — he said he will get Canada on a better footing to push back against Trump's talk of making the country the 51st state.
"We will never be part of the United States in any shape or form," he said, while promising to boost military spending to the two per cent of gross domestic product NATO target.
His commitment to get to that higher military spending "by 2030" was a point of contention because two of the other candidates, former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland and former government House leader Karina Gould, are promising to do it faster than that.
"It's time for us to step up at home," Freeland said.
"It's not just about pushing money out the door," Carney said when put on the defensive.
Freeland said she's running now because "Trump is posing the gravest challenge our country has faced since the Second World War. He's threatening us with economic warfare."
She said she's best placed to take on Trump because she went toe-to-toe with him in his first term, got a renegotiated NAFTA deal done and can do it again this time.
"I know how to lead a united, strong and smart response," she said.
She said she will inflict economic pain on U.S. companies and Trump's allies with retaliatory tariffs to force him to back down from this promised trade war. She said slapping tariffs on certain American farm products will prompt agriculture industry lobbyists — a powerful force in Republican circles — to demand Trump and his team retreat.
Freeland also said she wants to immediately convene a summit with other countries Trump has targeted in recent weeks, bringing together Mexico, Panama, Denmark (which controls Greenland) and the European Union to plot a plan to stop Trump's trade aggression and sovereignty taunts.
Carney said Canada can't take on Trump if its own economy is hobbled by persistent internal trade barriers — a tangle of federal and provincial red tape that makes it difficult to move goods and workers across borders.
"If we have one Canadian economy instead of 13 economies, that more than outweighs the impact of what Trump's trying to do to us," Carney said, referencing research that shows dismantling internal trade barriers could be a big shot in the arm to the economy.
Freeland agreed with the push to do away with those barriers, calling Trump's threats a "golden opportunity" to make big, transformative moves.
Jabs at Poilievre
Freeland said Poilievre, who she called "maple syrup MAGA," can't be trusted to handle the Trump threat.
"Pierre Poilievre, he actually agrees with Trump. They both say Canada is broken. We know that's not true," she said.
Saying she has a message for Trump, Freeland looked into the camera as if speaking directly to the president: "Pierre Poilievre wants to imitate you, but we're going to defeat you."
"Who's the worst person to stand up to Mr. Trump? Pierre Poilievre," Carney added. "He worships the man, he uses his language, he's not the right person to lead our country at this crucial time."
"He's a career politician who likes to make up slogans and nothing else," said Frank Baylis, a health-care industry businessman and former MP.
Distancing themselves from Trudeau
At different points in the debate, the candidates tried to distance themselves from their unpopular predecessor.
Carney said he will be laser-focused on growing the economy and keeping inflation low, things he said Trudeau let slide.
He said he will be "much more hands-on" and "focused on getting things done."
Carney said he wants to get the federal government's fiscal house in order after big-ticket spending and big growth in the size of the public service on Trudeau's watch.
Freeland bristled at any suggestion that the government's fiscal track record has been poor, saying she didn't want to see Conservative talking points about spending repeated at a Liberal debate.
But she did say she thinks there needs to be a "carefully managed decline in the number of public servants" through attrition — saying that's how she would pay for some of her spending promises.
Freeland said she's proud of the work she did with the government like instituting child care and free-trade deals but she's liberated now from Trudeau and she doesn't want to lead a "one-man band" like he did.
Gould said she's felt disaffected for two years about what she perceives as the government's inadequate response to the cost-of-living crisis.
"I felt we've lost touch," she said.
Baylis said he would focus more on the economy and creating wealth than the outgoing Liberal government.
Affordability strategy
To tackle persistent affordability issues, Carney said he will push through a middle-class tax cut to reduce the tax burden.
Gould said Carney's plan to do away with the carbon tax, which hikes taxes on fuels but rebates the money collected on a quarterly basis, will actually take money out of working people's pockets.
Low-income and no-income people are better off with a carbon tax than Carney's middle-class tax cut, she said.
"The math doesn't add up," Gould told Carney.
Gould told reporters at a post-debate news conference she will keep the government's existing carbon tax but pause increases.
"I'm not going to take cheques away from millions of people that rely on that money," she said.
Carney said his plan to turbocharge the economy will also help because he wants more people to have better paying jobs, again suggesting the outgoing government's recent track record has been disappointing.
"What's happened in this economy over the last five years? People's wages haven't kept pace with the rising prices," he said.
While lamenting slow growth, Carney said he wants to keep new programs like child care, pharmacare and dental care in place, accusing Poilievre of wanting to dismantle these signature Liberal initiatives that he said make life more affordable for people who need the help most.
Later in the debate, talk turned to how to bring young Canadians back into the Liberal fold given polls show some of those voters are turning to other parties.
Gould said the party has lost touch with young people and the solution isn't to become "Conservative lite."
"We will only win the next election by being Liberals — proudly. Not running from the progress we've made," she said.
She said the party needs to be proudly progressive with an ambitious plan to get more homes built through government support and tackle climate change.
Carney said the country isn't doing nearly enough to build homes and a generation of Canadians feel locked out of a path to prosperity.
He said he wants to double housing starts to roughly 500,000 a year to get many more people into homes they can afford.
Like Freeland, he's pitching a plan to remove the GST for first-time homebuyers, which will make properties more affordable.
The Liberals will announce their new leader on March 9.
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