Party leaders campaign in Ontario, B.C. battlegrounds as election day nears

Pierre Poilievre, Jagmeet Singh and Mark Carney are shown in photos from April 25-26, 2025. (Darren Calabrese, Darryl Dyck, Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA — Former prime minister Jean Chretien predicted the Liberals will win a majority government on Monday, as party leaders blitzed key ridings in Ontario and British Columbia hoping to swing last minute votes their way.

At a rally for Ottawa Centre Liberal incumbent Yasir Naqvi, Chretien said he expects “to celebrate the majority government of the Liberal party” after polls close Monday night.

“Monday is going to be a Liberal sunshine,” he said, drawing cheers.

Recent polls suggest the Liberals, under Mark Carney, remain in the lead overall, though it is still a close contest with the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre. The Conservatives have leaned on former prime minister Stephen Harper to campaign for Poilievre, including in a television ad that has been in heavy rotation during the NHL playoffs.

Chretien, now 91, led three majority Liberal governments between 1993 and 2003 and is still a draw for Liberals. He has been tapped to make an appearance in multiple ridings in recent days, including events in Burlington and Oakville, Ont. on Friday and in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon.

Chretien pointed to Canada’s united and patriotic turn since U.S. President Donald Trump began imposing tariffs and talking about annexing the country to make it a 51st state.

“We have never been so united,” Chretien said. “We should say thank you to Mr. Trump.”

He said he proposed to name Trump to the Order of Canada for uniting this country, which drew a round of laughter. He triggered a fresh wave when he then quipped that Trump probably wouldn’t get it because he has a criminal record.

Trump is the only U.S. president ever to be convicted of a felony.

Carney has campaigned heavily on how he would respond to Trump and extricate Canada from its dependent relationship with the U.S., and fear of Trump has helped restore the Liberals from the polling doldrums they were in before the U.S. President’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

It was again Carney’s main theme during a tour of battleground ridings in the Greater Toronto Area and Windsor, Ont., Saturday.

“President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us and, well, that will never happen,” Carney said, repeating one of his most frequent statements in front of a large group of supporters at the King City campus of Seneca Polytechnic.

Carney said if Canada unites, “we will win this trade war, and we will build the strongest economy in the G7.”

When asked if that is an overly ambitious reading of what economists expect to happen to the Canadian economy in the coming years, Carney responded that winning a trade war means becoming an energy superpower with high amounts of trade with other countries and affordable housing.

Carney also rejected the declaration Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet made on Friday that Canada is “an artificial country with very little meaning.”

“I reject them completely. This is an incredible country,” Carney said. “What I would look to be part of is this process that is underway, of the country coming together, of unifying. And I want to support that, not divide.”

Poilievre responded to the comments on social media, calling them “insulting and false.”

“Canada is a strong, proud and sovereign country with a rich history,” he wrote on X. “As Prime Minister, I will (always) defend Canada and make it stronger than ever before.”

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, who some think is positioning for an eventual leadership run for the federal Tories, also called Blanchet’s comments “insulting” and suggested Blanchet leave public office if he doesn’t take pride and honour in the role.

Carney’s tour breezed through ridings north of Toronto in King City, Markham and Aurora, that are all expected to be close contests with the Conservatives, in a region of the country that is critical to winning an election.

He also held a rally in Mississauga Saturday afternoon, and had another scheduled for Windsor Saturday night.

Poilievre campaigned Saturday in the Vancouver area, including in Surrey as well as at a rally in Delta where he did not take questions from media.

“We will end tax havens and bring the money home,” he told the crowd.

“It’s not fair that the elite -- the well-connected elite like Mark Carney, get to ship his money abroad while he forces you to pay more here.”

There are multiple seats in play in the Vancouver region on Monday. B.C. has often been a three-way contest between the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, but in this race, the NDP have fallen well behind and most seats are expected to be a red-blue race now.

Conservative supporters at the rally said they are optimistic about Poilievre emerging victorious in Monday’s election, despite the polls.

“I’m expecting it’ll be a better situation than what the polls are suggesting right now,” said rally attendee Bob Phippen, a resident of Mission, B.C. “This is a historic movement, and it’s an opportunity to change the direction of the country.”

Maple Ridge, B.C., resident Nicole Belich brought her two daughters to the rally and said she has spoken to people in her community who “would have voted differently” in the past who have expressed support for the Conservatives this election.

“I believe we are headed towards change,” she said, adding it was crucial to have her daughters at the event.

“It isn’t just about supporting Pierre. It’s also about bringing awareness to this generation and what is to come in the future to help them understand at their young ages of 10 and 15 what the future could look like.”

Poilievre flew to Sudbury, Ont. for an evening event. The northern Ontario city, known mostly for its nickel mining industry, has just one seat. It seems an unlikely win for the Conservatives, though the margin of victory for the Liberals was smaller in 2021 than in 2019.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, whose campaign has struggled from the beginning, is campaigning in Southwestern Ontario, where his party is trying to at least hang on to the two seats it won in 2021. They face a stiff challenge from the Liberals in both Windsor West and London -- Fanshawe.

Singh delivered snacks to campaign workers at a stop in London and then attended a labour rally in Windsor, Ont.

He told campaigners in London Saturday morning to remind voters that “their vote that has actually built this country by electing New Democrats, that have built up all the things that make Canada, Canada.”

In Windsor, he joined autoworkers represented by Unifor who are rallying for protections in their U.S. tariff threatened sector.

Singh said that Canada has put more than $30 billion into auto manufacturing over the last five years, and said that Canada can’t let auto companies move parts and facilities south of the border.

He also said Ottawa should use every lever possible to prevent firms that received public funding from moving equipment or facilities to the U.S.

Singh is later expected to attend a Lapu-Lapu Day party with the Filipino community in Vancouver and an Eid dinner with Muslims in Burnaby, B.C.

-- With files from Kyle Duggan in King City, Ont. and David Baxter in London, Ont.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press