Four of Canada’s political leaders gathered on Thursday for a debate in an election campaign during which President Trump’s potentially crippling tariffs and his calls for Canada’s annexation have loomed above all other issues.
The politicians repeatedly referred to the challenges posed by Mr. Trump as a crisis for Canada. But three candidates piled on the fourth: Prime Minister Mark Carney, the former central banker of Canada and England, who took the office last month after being elected the leader of the Liberal Party.
Mr. Carney’s opponents included his chief contender, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, which for much of the past year had dominated polls and appeared headed for a certain victory in the April 28 federal election. Mr. Carney’s move into politics and Mr. Trump’s economic and political assault on Canada have since reversed the fortunes of the Conservatives, with the Liberals enjoying a slight lead in the polls.
The other candidates were Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party and Yves-François Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, a party that promotes Quebec’s independence and runs candidates only in that province.
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Here are key takeaways from the two-hour debate.
No one had concrete ideas on pushing back against Trump.
All of the politicians agreed that President Trump’s economic policies and his proposal to annex Canada have created a crisis.
But none of them offered any specific details about how they would get the American leader to change course, beyond general talk of tough negotiations at which they would assert Canada’s sovereignty and economic independence.
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