As global stock markets continued to plunge on Monday, Canada’s federal party leaders took aim at the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump while pledging support for Canadians to “weather the storm.”
The start of the third week of election campaigning was clouded by global financial turmoil as economic uncertainty caused by the U.S. tariffs persists in Canada and across the world.
Canada’s main stock index was down more than 500 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stocks also continued to post big losses after Trump’s tariff announcement last week.
Monday’s losses come on the heels of big declines on Thursday and Friday after Trump announced a sweeping round of global tariffs Wednesday evening, adding fuel to concerns that a recession is on the way.
Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney called Monday a “volatile day,” saying the market turmoil was a direct consequence of Trump’s “unjustified tariffs” against Canada and other countries.
“The world woke up to some pretty dramatic moves and they’re ongoing in financial markets,” Carney said at a campaign stop in Saanichton, BC.
“This is what we have been concerned about and indeed, this is what we’ve been trying to warn the president of the United States about.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there may be some tough days ahead for Canadians, but I also want to reassure that we are prepared.”
Carney said Trump’s trade actions have “significantly” raised the probability of a recession in the U.S., which could have “significant effects on the Canadian economy.”
“It’s very hard for us to avoid that,” he added.
The Liberals unveiled on Monday their plan to help Canadian seniors through the market turmoil, pledging to reduce the minimum amount that can be withdrawn from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) by 25 per cent for one year.
If re-elected, the Liberals are also vowing to temporarily raise the Guaranteed Income Supplement by five per cent for one year, providing a tax-free amount of up to $652 more to low-income seniors.
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Carney said this boost will help seniors “weather the storm.”
“So many Canadians are understandably worried about their jobs and their retirement savings, which is why anticipating this need we announced this morning that we will help to protect Canadians’ retirement savings from this market uncertainty,” he said.
In his role as prime minister, Carney said he spoke to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who is running for re-election as the Liberal candidate in the Quebec riding of Saint Maurice-Champlain, earlier on Monday, saying he has confidence in them and Canada’s financial institutions.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also slammed Trump’s tariffs for the market chaos, while also laying blame on the Liberal government for making Canada reliant on the U.S., he said.
“We have to acknowledge that this chaos is the direct result of wrong-headed, unnecessary, chaotic policies coming from President Trump,” Poilievre told reporters in Terrace, B.C.
“These tariffs are a massive distraction and it reminds us why it is such a mistake for the Liberals to make us so dependent on Americans over the last Liberal decade.”
In this election campaign, the Conservatives have also proposed a plan to help seniors in the short term, allowing the option of keeping savings growing in their registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) until age 73, up from 71.
Poilievre said on Monday that the two-year delay “will save many seniors from being forced to crystallize losses they’re experiencing on the stock market today.”
Under the Conservatives’ plan, announced last month, working seniors will be able to earn up to $34,000 tax-free, which Poilievre said is $10,000 more than what they currently can.
Speaking in Toronto, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canadians are facing a “real threat” of recession.
“There are real concerns that we might find ourselves in a position where we’re up against a lot of difficulty,” Singh said.
He said cutting our way out of recession will make the economic “pain even worse,” vowing to invest in Canadian workers.
On Monday, the New Democrats unveiled a $16-billion national housing strategy that would replace the Liberals’ Housing Accelerator Fund and build three million new homes by 2030.
Singh said the funds would be raised by ending offshore tax havens and victory bonds that were used during the world ears.
“Victory bonds are a way for Canadians to actually have stability and with all the mess of the market that we’re seeing, it’s actually a more guaranteed investment for a lot of people,” Singh said.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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