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OTTAWA — The Liberal and Conservative leaders are both in British Columbia today, where the Liberals are promising environmental conservation measures and support for seniors, while the Tories are offering more efficient approvals for resource projects.
At the start of the third week of the federal election campaign, Liberal Leader Mark Carney is in Victoria, where he met with B.C. Premier David Eby, with steep American duties on Canadian softwood lumber a focal point.
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Carney told reporters ahead of the meeting that it’s not his first time talking with Eby about softwood lumber and Canada’s response to the broader trade dispute with the United States.
He says “we’re going to fight, protect and build.”
Canadian lumber tariffs ‘wholly unjustified’
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a plan Friday to raise the duties on Canadian lumber to 34.45 per cent, more than double the current levy.
Asked about the U.S. plan during an earlier press conference in the Victoria area, Carney told reporters “these tariffs are wholly unjustified.”
He says he recognizes the importance of the industry that supports tens of thousands of workers and the federal government is stepping up on their behalf.
“This is another unjustified tariff. You can expect us to fight against it.”
Carney said there is an opportunity to play to B.C.’s strengths in modular housing and mass timber as the federal government looks to speed up home building.
Eby told reporters the American announcement was “bad news,” after issuing a statement on Saturday saying the plan was an “attack on workers.”
Carney pointed to his Liberals’ recent campaign pledge to implement a national housing strategy with the goal of building half a million homes a year, doubling the current rate, and said supporting Canadian lumber is part of that effort.
“We do have that ambition to build in this country, to use our resources.”
The federal New Democrats also issued a statement from several candidates from Vancouver Island, where many people and communities depend on the industry.
“The forest industry is taking a hit. The current softwood lumber tariffs are already devastating — this will be crippling,” says Gord Johns in Courtenay-Alberni.
“What we need right now is to build hospitals, bridges and houses — and let’s do it using Canadian lumber and steel.”
B.C. is a battleground province where the Liberals and Conservatives find themselves in closer competition than in many other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Eby has thrown his support behind NDP incumbents seeking re-election, which includes NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who represents Burnaby South.
LIVE: Protecting Canada’s nature and waters • EN DIRECT : Protéger la nature et l’eau du Canada https://t.co/UiJY8ROaap
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 7, 2025
At a press conference in Victoria, Carney outlined a number of conservation measures, including creating at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as 15 new urban parks.
He also pledged to invest $100 million into a “strategic water security technology fund” to advance Canadian research and development, artificial intelligence, monitoring and data tools.
The Liberals also said Monday they would temporarily give seniors more flexibility to draw from their retirement savings and, for a period of one year, increase the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors.
Thanks to the Lost Liberal Decade, Canada is behind on LNG. Way behind.
But it's not too late. Our Conservative government will quickly approve projects so we bring home billions of dollars of powerful paycheques for our people.
It's how we'll put Canada First — For a Change:… pic.twitter.com/DN3sxa8LMS
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) April 7, 2025
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in Terrace, B.C. announcing a plan to speed up approvals for major resource projects.
Poilievre says each project would have one application and one environmental review. He says he would work with the provinces to create a single office that would coordinate project approvals across all levels of government.
Singh, who met with Hudson Bay employees in Toronto, says workers should be compensated for unpaid wages, benefits and severance ahead of creditors when companies like Hudson Bay file for bankruptcy.
This housing crisis didn’t just happen – it’s the result of decades of decisions that helped speculators, not people.
New Democrats will fix that by building 3 million affordable homes, protecting renters, and creating good jobs to get it done.
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) April 7, 2025
Singh is also promising $16 billion over four years to build three million homes by 2030.
The funds would be split evenly between two programs. One would “reward” cities that build more multi-unit homes in all neighbourhoods, build more homes near transit hubs and speed up permitting, while the other would help provinces expand the water and sewage infrastructure needed to support housing.
Chinese online campaign targets Carney
In Ottawa on Monday, federal security officials said they found an online information operation targeting Carney that they linked to the Chinese government.
The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force said “contrasting narratives” were spread on the social media platform WeChat “amplifying” Carney’s stance on the United States and targeting his experience and credentials.
It traced the operation to the news account Youli-Youmian, which intelligence reports have linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s central political and legal affairs commission.
— by Anja Karadeglija, with files from David Baxter in Toronto, Craig Lord and Jim Bronskill in Ottawa, and Chuck Chiang in Terrace, B.C.
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