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OTTAWA — The leaders of the three main federal parties paused their election campaigns Sunday to express their sorrow and offer condolences to victims and their families hours after a vehicle attack in Vancouver killed 11 people and injured many more.
“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are living every family’s worst nightmare,” Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberal leader, said of the Saturday evening attack during a stop in Hamilton.
“I know that I join all Canadians in mourning with you. I know that Canadians are united with you.”
Carney said he had been briefed by Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and his national security adviser. Later on social media, Carney said he spoke with British Columbia Premier David Eby to offer his condolences.
“The Vancouver Police Department and municipal and provincial officials have the full support of the federal government as they conduct their investigations,” he wrote.
McGuinty also has spoken with B.C. Public Safety Minister Garry Begg.
Eby said he would be meeting with Carney later in the day alongside community leaders.
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai said a 30-year-old local man was arrested after an SUV plowed through a crowded South Vancouver street at high speed on Saturday, leaving a trail of wreckage and victims on the ground.
On Sunday, Rai said 11 people have died and the death toll could climb in the coming days.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was due to host multiple rallies across Ontario on Sunday. He met with members of the Filipino community at a church in Mississauga, Ont., in the morning before making a statement.
“I just wanted you all to know that our hearts are with you today. All Canadians are united in solidarity with the Filipino community,” Poilievre said.
“Their loved ones — their brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers — all of them will have a deep hole in their hearts today. So we will try to fill it with the love of the entire country.”
At a rally in Oakville, Ont., shortly after, Poilievre repeated his standard campaign messages about affordability and safer streets but spoke for a shorter time than usual.
The Conservative party posted several times about violent crime on social media Sunday. A Global News reporter posted on X that the Conservative party’s Instagram account shared a video about violent crime with a caption that referred directly to the Vancouver attack.
The caption on that post was changed later in the day. The Conservatives did not answer when asked who decided on that change and if they endorsed the original message, and pointed The Canadian Press to a transcript of what the video said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the Vancouver festival Saturday night and left just minutes before the attack. He later told reporters he didn’t have the words to describe the tragedy.
“I was there and I just imagine the faces of the kids that I saw smiling, dancing. I imagine the aunties that were there. I don’t even know what to say. It’s just horrific. I’m heartbroken,” he said.
“I just want the Filipino community to know we stand with you. Everyone is with you, everyone is standing with you.”
Carney was supposed to meet with supporters in Hamilton at 8 a.m. but the event was cancelled. He instead held a 10 a.m. news conference before heading for a campaign event in Saskatoon.
The Liberal leader had a day of events scheduled in multiple cities on Sunday but changed his plans in the wake of the attack.
A Liberal rally scheduled for Calgary and another for Richmond, B.C., were cancelled. Carney held a small event in Edmonton before departing for Vancouver.
Singh had multiple campaign stops planned for Sunday in Vancouver, New Westminster and Coquitlam in B.C. He was also expected to visit the Vaisakhi parade in Oliver, B.C. to celebrate the Sikh holiday. Those events have been cancelled.
Speaking in Penticton, B.C. on Sunday, Singh was moved to tears as he vowed never to “let hate win.”
“We honour those we lost, not by giving into fear, but by living in their spirit, by building a Canada where no one is treated as disposable,” Singh said.
Singh attended a Tagalog service at St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver Sunday afternoon, alongside NDP Vancouver—Kingsway candidate Don Davies. The attack took place in Davies’ riding.
Davies said he’d spent five hours at the festival Saturday, and said Sunday afternoon’s service will have been the third he’s attended since the tragedy.
“The faith of the Filipino community is strong, but I thought the best way to be together and to walk with the Filipino community is to be with them as they process, share their faith and pray today,” Davies said.
Singh concluded the final day of the campaign at a vigil for victims of the vehicle attack in at a Vancouver community centre. Hundreds of people attended, including other politicians such as B.C. Premier David Eby.
“Members in the community said ‘now we’re mourning, but there’s questions about how to make sense of all of this. Many people talked about the need for mental health supports,” Singh told reporters after the vigil ended.
Recent polls show the Liberals are leading in the race but remain in a head-to-head battle with the Conservatives. Voters head to the polls on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2025.
— With files from Kyle Duggan in Hamilton, Cassandra Szklarski in Oakville, Ont., and David Baxter in Penticton, B.C. and Burnaby, B.C.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
