TORONTO – An unprecedented crackdown on crime: that’s what Pierre Poilievre promised today, during his campaign tour that touched on Sault Ste. Marie – where the Conservative leader held a particularly well-attended “rally” – and Brampton. His proposed law, aimed at hitting “rampant career criminals”, has an eloquent name: “Three Strikes, You’re Out Law” and it provides, in short, to lock up offenders for 10 years without parole, bail or house arrest following a third conviction for a serious offence. 

The intention is to put an end to “catch and release” for repeat offenders: that’s how the Canadian system works currently, and this effectively allows even the most hardened criminals to go free and continue committing crimes.

Poilievre promises to blow up this system, implementing “the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history. These criminals cannot be released until they have proven that they no longer pose a danger to society” Poilievre said, noting that the Liberals’ “soft-on-crime, easy-bail policy” has caused “chaos..”.

Leader Mark Carney, returning himself from a well-attended “rally” in Calgary, said today that the Liberals’ approach will be defined by three goals: energy security, trade diversification and long-term competitiveness. Specifically, the Liberals will connect critical mineral projects to supply chains through a new “First and Last Mile Fund” (“Critical minerals are part of Canada’s economic advantage, we’re going to get them to market faster” Carney said); accelerate mining and exploration; speed up clean energy projects across the country; establish an Office of Federal Major Projects to promote a “One Project, One Review” approach to reduce duplication (a proposal very similar to one Poilievre made on Monday and called “One-and-Done”); double the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion.  

Finally, Carney stressed the need to “generate more and more clean energy. Our investment tax credit system is promoting a generational investment in the very clean energy”, because Canada is “home to an abundance of conventional and clean energy resources…”.

The federal election campaign continues: the vote is next April 28.

In the photos above, from top: Pierre Poilievre’s “rally” in Sault Ste. Marie (Twitter X – @PierrePoilievre) and Mark Carney’s in Calgary (Twitter X –@sherlockeditor)

Blanchet: “Federal positions only for those who know French well”

MONTREAL – Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said yesterday that he wants to see “greater efforts to protect the French language in Quebec.” In front of McGill University, a renowned English-language university based in Montreal, Blanchet (pictured) first accused the federal Liberal government of spending $200 million in 2023-2024 to promote English in Quebec through the Official Languages ​​Action Plan. Then, the Bloc Quebecois leader said he wants to see French as the “dominant language in Quebec’s federal workplaces” and added that “only those with a good knowledge of French should receive federal positions.” He would also like “sufficient knowledge of French to become a requirement for managers of federally regulated companies, such as Via Rail, Canada Post and Radio-Canada.” From Blanchet himself, yesterday a new “torpedo” arrived via X-Twitter to the other two main candidates: “Does Canada have a preference for Mark Carney’s statements? That’s their business. Quebecers, for their part, are disappointed: they don’t want Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney ignores Quebec. This arrogance threatens our diverse economy, our Frenchness, our secularism and immigration that works”. The leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, was still in British Columbia yesterday, in Vancouver, where he promised a complete public pharmaceutical system within four years: It would start with “100 of the most commonly prescribed drugs,” including painkillers and antibiotics, which he said would cover about half of all prescriptions in Canada, costing taxpayers $3.5 billion. The two Green Party co-leaders were in Ottawa yesterday for a series of meetings, before heading to Montreal where Jonathan Pedneault stopped, while Elizabeth May left for a tour of Moncton.