Carney pokes fun at Alberta’s Smith as leaders enter week 3 of race

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is starting off his Western Canada campaign stops by drawing a contrast with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Carney arrived late Sunday in Victoria, B.C., his first stop in Western Canada, where he is expected to spend a significant amount of the third week of the federal campaign.

He told supporters at a community hall in Victoria that Canada is rethinking its relationship with the U.S. and need more growth in fields like green energy.

This morning, Carney is set to make an announcement and hold a news conference in Victoria, which is set for midday Ottawa time.

He will then meet with B.C. Premier David Eby before heading to the Vancouver area for an evening rally in Richmond, B.C.

1:16 Carney hits B.C. as support for NDP weakens in key ridings

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is expected to make an announcement in Toronto Monday following weekend campaign stops on the East Coast, where he announced plans to impose national rent control and to get every Canadian access to a family doctor in the next five years.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is wrapping up a campaign sweep on the West Coast Monday before flying to Edmonton for a rally. Poilievre says a new funding model for drug treatment centres, rolled out at a campaign event Sunday, could help treat 50,000 Canadians facing drug addiction.

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The Liberals are riding high in the polls, in which Canadians say U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats are their top concern.

An Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released Sunday showed 46 per cent of Canadians surveyed would cast their ballots for the Liberals, up two points from last week.

The Conservatives, by contrast, fell four points to 34 per cent support among polled voters.

Ten per cent of Canadians in the poll chose the New Democratic Party, three per cent chose the Green Party, and the Bloc Quebecois’ 26 per cent support in Quebec translated to six per cent nationally. All three parties went up one point from last week.

0:49 Liberals expand lead, with some voters still open to switching parties

Carney said there’s been a national effort to convince Americans to change policies like tariffs, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford addressing the conservative Fox News network.

“We’re sending Doug Ford on to Fox News, to show them we’re not messing around up here. And we’re going to send Danielle next, we’re — well maybe we won’t send Danielle,” he said, with a grimace. “That was a bad idea.”

He later joked, when his microphone cut out just as he was discussing clean energy, that “that was Danielle.”

2:02 Carney promises a resilient Canadian economy, pledges millions for push

Smith declared victory last week when Trump stopped short of imposing tariffs on all Canadian imports including energy, and instead proceeded with his planned tariffs affecting Canadian sectors such as automotive and steel industries.

In an interview last month with the outlet Breitbart News, Smith called on U.S. officials to pause tariffs until after the election and said that Poilievre’s “perspective” would be “very much in sync with, I think, with the new direction in America.”

Carney’s office said he spoke with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday to discuss deepening trade ties.