Big rallies and fluctuating polls dominate first week of federal election
The kickoff to the 2025 Canadian election has been dominated by large rallies from Pierre Poilievre, talk of Canada’s response to American tariffs, and polls showing increasing support for the...
The kickoff to the 2025 Canadian election has been dominated by large rallies from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, talk of Canada’s response to American tariffs, and polls showing increasing support for the Liberal party.
This week, Liberal Leader Mark Carney was also dogged by questions surrounding his financial assets and his decision to back out of the French TVA debate.
Polls have fluctuated widely and the most recent surveys show the Liberals gaining an advantage.
The latest Juno News poll found that Carney’s Liberals are at 41 per cent support, followed by Poilievre’s Conservatives at 35 per cent.
The NDP’s support has collapsed to 12 per cent while the Bloc Québécois are polling at 8 per cent nationally and 36 per cent in Quebec.
While the Conservatives have experienced a 5 to 10-point drop in the polls, this has not stopped Poilievre from being able to attract massive crowds at the rallies he has been attending nationwide.
At his kickoff rally in Toronto, Ontario, Poilievre attracted at least 3,000 supporters, some of whom were turned away due to the venue reaching maximum capacity.
Thousands also showed up to Poilievre’s rally in Hamilton and his recent rally in Surrey, where a lineup of Conservative supporters stretched several city blocks.
In his first week of campaigning, the Conservative leader announced that he would be cutting the income tax rate for the bottom quintile, dropping the rate from 15 per cent to 12.5per cent.
Poilievre also announced that a Conservative government would mandate life sentences for individuals convicted of serial human trafficking, large-scale illegal firearm dealing, and distributing fentanyl.
Carney also held rallies in St. John’s, Montreal, and Kitchener that drew significant crowds from Liberal supporters while NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet held smaller events with supporters.
Carney’s campaign hit some rough waters during the week, as the prime minister was grilled for refusing to participate in a French debate hosted by TVA. Conservative leader Poilievre even pledged to pay for Carney’s entry fee into the debate.
Meanwhile, a recent report was published by the National Post claiming that Carney has plagiarized parts of his economics doctoral thesis at Oxford University. Carney’s campaign claims that he did not plagiarize anyone’s work and that all of his sources were properly cited.
On Friday, Carney held an official call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump said that his call with Carney was “extremely productive,” that he agrees with Carney on many things, and that he looks forward to meeting with Carney after the election.
Carney reported that the call between himself and Trump was productive and claimed that the two leaders will begin negotiations on the Canada-U.S. economic and security relationship after the election.
Trump has not shied away from inserting himself into the Canadian election, recently telling Fox News’ Laura Ingram that he would rather deal with a Liberal government over a Conservative one.
Polls show that dealing with Trump and the impact of his decisions is a top two ballot question for Canadians, along with cost of living concerns.
I would like to get Juno to stop with this poll reporting it's nothing but a detrement to the voting crowd. Too many people use them as a popularity contest and vote for popularity. Instead of voting for honenst and benificial people to represent them in government.
Polls have been proven by podcasters to be rigged by external influences and not to be trusted. I agree some people use them as a guide.. That's why we need to get the vote out and Poliverre needs to just talk without notes.