Canada federal election Sept. 16
CBC News will bring you the latest news from the campaign trail in our live blog every weekday from now until election day, Oct. 19.
-
150-200 people gather at Uof #guelph to listen to #Greenparty leader Elizabeth May. #cbcnews http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPCMzbiWIAAjugX.jpg
by cheryl krawchuk via twitter 9/16/2015 3:23:56 PM -
CBC's Margo McDiarmid grabbed this great shot yesterday of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau leaving his campaign plane as photographers try to capture the moment.
Margo McDiarmid/CBCby CBC News -
A longstanding theme for the Conservative Party would be reducing taxes on the wealthy or on corporations, but it seems as though most self-identifying Conservatives don't want to take that route.
Vote Compass: Canadians say rich should pay more tax, divided on how to spur growth
Focusing on economic issues, the latest results from Vote Compass reveal a majority of Canadians support higher taxes for corporations and the wealthy. But they're conflicted about building more oil pipelines. -
- Canadian Press
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is finding himself the object of affection on the federal campaign trail today as two party leaders jockey for his attention.
The popular mayor has scheduled meetings with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau followed almost immediately by NDP rival Tom Mulcair on what is otherwise a relatively quiet day.
All three major party leaders are in the city preparing for a debate Thursday on the economy. - Canadian Press
-
-
Conservative candidate Jason Kenney is live now:
Conservative Jason Kenney LIVE at 11:45 am ET
Candidate makes an announcement related to campaign spending promises and the economy. -
Jason Kenney come to talk about the costing of NDP platform ahead of it being released #elxn42 http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPCVDMsVEAAjqAx.jpg
by Hannah Thibedeau via twitter 9/16/2015 3:59:44 PM -
Jason Kenney reiterates party's position that people should have their face uncovered at citizenship ceremonies.
Kenney, asked if government has the authority to file an appeal during an election campaign, says they have no choice - otherwise, they would miss the appeal deadline. -
Critics - including Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau - have said the Conservatives have been using the politics of fear and division regarding the niqab.
Kenney says it's exactly the opposite - they are pushing for transparency and unity, he says. -
-
We'll be starting our Q and A with CBC political reporter James Cudmore in just a few minutes. If you have any questions, send them in now.
-
-
-
Hi, James. Thanks for joining us.
To get started, what would say the highlights of this very long campaign have been so far? -
Great question. It's hard to pick a highlight without looking like your picking favourites. So, I'll offer a few moments of significance: For sure the reaction to that photo of little Alan Kurdi, the three year old boy found dead on a beach in Turkey was a significant moment.
-
But I'd also have to add the early debate, and the coming debates, too. I think a lot of politics watchers were looking to see how the leaders would do against each other in that format.
-
There's also the admission from the Liberals that the party would run a deficit. All of these are significant things.
-
But in terms of policy, i think an important day will be when we can compare all the major parties platforms against one another
-
We'll start with questions from the live blog readers.
westeddie12 asks:
Where is the spending at for F-35s? -
-
The F35 purchase has been paused. The govt may intend, in the end, to buy it. But at the minute there has been no order placed. The government has spent some cash to be a part of the program -- and its still spending some -- but, it maintains that spending has been rewarded by Canadian manufacturing access to avionics and plane parts.
-
If the Conservatives form a new government, I would expect it to announce a replacement for the CF-18 pretty quickly.
-
Next up, a question about the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
Hi there, policy q here...prior to the election, we heard a lot about the TPP but are hearing nothing about it on the campaign. I want to know if any of the leaders will submit to putting it to a referendum since it's so all encompassing. Why hasn't the TPP been talked more about in elxn42?
Slick Willyat 12:54 PM -
Oh no! Not a trade question! We're going to have to talk about supply management here.
-
TPP is still being negotiated, far as I can tell, and so there is no deal to talk about. There is certainly a lot of discussion happening in government and bureaucratic circles. We have an inhouse expert of sorts who keeps track of what's happening. But the reality is that its very dry material and it's hard to make much sense of where things could go, and where they're already at. We have seen some public debate recently led by the Council of Canadians. But the parties are sure not staking claims.
-
Obviously, whoever wins will want to put their own imprint on the negotiations. And I expect in the case of the Libs and NDP, there'd be a bunch of catch up to do on the history of what's been happening behind closed doors.
-
James, you mentioned the Alan Kurdi photos as one of the key moments of the campaign:
Do you think Canadians, specifically journalists, are overreacting to the photo of Alan Kurdi? Especially considering the Syrian refugee crisis has been ongoing for nearly 10 years and the conservatives have been involved in humanitarian aid for each of those years.
Jat 1:31 PM -
Do I think journalists are over reacting? Hmm. No.
\ -
I think it is def true that the Syrian refugee crisis has a long history. But I'm not sure that we have seen such a mass migration across waters and borders, as we are seeing this summer, in a very long time. The photo of Alan Kurdi came to represent something much more than just the death of one boy, and that is likely the reason folks are writing about it.
-
I was travelling with the Conservative campaign as that picture was published. The morning of September 3, Stephen Harper was to have a news conference with a policy drop. The Conservative Party changed its plans in recognition of the significance of that photo. Harper told us the story of how he came to see the photo and his own reaction to it. You could hear his voice catch in his throat as he recounted the impact of that photo.
-
-
Next question:
In regards to the debate on the economy tomorrow in Calgary, who has the most to gain and the most to lose?
F_Pattenat 1:31 PM -
I tend to cover the NDP more closely than the other parties, so I think I will focus my attention on them.
-
The reality is that the economy is a huge issue in this campaign. The Conservatives are hoping to make it the ballot box question and so Harper needs to be seen as strong on this issue. But, there is also a lot at stake for the other two big party leaders.
-
The Liberals need to counter the "Not Ready" attack and show that Justin Trudeau is ready. But the stakes are super high for Mulcair too
-
The NDP has its sights on government. For the first time in forever, its a possibility. But, the lead the NDP had doesn't seem to be quite as strong, especially as the Liberal leader's number grow. For the dippers I think the next phase of the campaign will be to demonstrate that their guy is superior to the Liberal's guy.
-
For the NDP now its all about differentiation. Mulcair needs to be seen to have wiped the floor with the other two if he wants to win.
-
-
If the Cons win a minority, how hard would it be for the opposition parties to form a government?
Harperoid cureat 1:41 PM -
This is the stuff wonks have both sweet dreams and nightmares over.
-
The sole requirement to be named PM is to demonstrate that you can command the confidence of the house of commons.
-
Stephen Harper has said the party with the most seats gets the first crack, in his view. So, he's laid a marker of his own. I suspect the Conservatives would need to quickly lose a confidence vote in order for anyone else to be asked. But in any event, the other folks would need to demonstrate they have the desire to work with one another (which is what the 2008 coalition agreement was all about). To be honest, we will really just have to wait and see.
-
Last question:
Do you the conservatives are happy the niqab issue is still living on?
spalgat 1:50 PM -
-
There has been a bunch of polling lately that shows among conservative supporters, there's an opinion the party has been taking the right tack on questions like Syrian Refugees, fighting ISIS and combating terrorism at home. The niqab debate is part of the same sort of question.
