Party leaders discussed their thoughts on everything from COVID-19 recovery to climate change
The English language debate for the 2021 federal election took place on Sept. 9.
During the event, party leaders Justin Trudeau (Liberal), Erin O’Toole (Conservative), Jagmeet Singh (New Democratic Party), Annamie Paul (Green) and Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Quebecois) debated five major topics: leadership and accountability, climate change, Indigenous reconciliation, affordability, and COVID-19 recovery.
Prime Minister Trudeau was quickly placed in the hot seat, where he received an onslaught of questions regarding the fall of Kabul, the ongoing imprisonment of two Canadians in China, and his poorly-received decision to call a snap election during a pandemic. Trudeau insisted the government was working hard to get Canadians out of Afghanistan and out of China. The decision for an election came, Trudeau says, in an effort to gain the momentum needed to finish the fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh was questioned on his party’s budget outline which Singh said would be partially paid for by taxing the wealthy, noting that “billionaires should pay their fair share.” Singh added that Canadians need not feel forced into a two-party voting system, and urged voters to consider the NDP as a genuine alternative.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole was grilled for his controversial leadership tactics. In light of the Conservative party’s contrasting statements and actions on vaccination, climate change, and LGBTQ+ issues, moderator Shachi Kurl posed the question, “how can voters trust that it’s [O’Toole] and not [his] caucus that will lead a conservative agenda?” O’Toole responded with an emphasis on his personal ethics and his belief in defending the rights of all Canadians while being a pro-choice ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
On the topic of climate change, Trudeau fought strongly for his climate action plan, claiming that it remains the least costly and most effective strategy on the table ready to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Trudeau government believes that it can meet its Paris Climate Agreement target of a 40 to 45 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. O’Toole argued Trudeau’s plan was unachievable and would jeopardize Canadian jobs and livelihoods.
However, O’Toole’s targets did not sit well with any of the party leaders, especially Trudeau who criticized his environmental focus for being insincere due to his inability to “convince his party that climate change is real because they voted against it.”
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul chimed in to suggest that such an issue is not a partisan one and should not be branded as such. Instead, Paul identified the change to a green economy as one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time and an opportunity that should be seized in order to help Canada become a renewable energy superpower.
While heavily criticized for his party’s lack of any concrete climate action plan, Singh agreed with Paul on climate change being an issue that requires parties to come together across party lines and work as one.
Indigenous reconciliation, another theme of the debate, appeared to be less of a focus than expected. Questions regarding the violence against Indigenous women and girls crisis were met with brief responses and an NDP-Liberal quarrel over the claim that Trudeau is taking “Indigenous kids to court.”
Trudeau’s attempt to discuss the Liberal party’s view of Indigenous issues as a priority by increasing funding to end drinking water advisories, repair First Nations schools, set up a new Indigenous-led child welfare system and revive Indigenous languages did little to distract from the consistent back-and-forth between Singh and Trudeau. Paul, in response to moderator Kurl’s attempt to keep Singh and Trudeau on track, claimed that the messy arguments were clear examples of why Indigenous leadership at the federal level is desperately needed.
Afterwards, O’Toole criticized Trudeau over the recent increase in inflation and the ongoing housing crisis, emphasizing that the Conservative housing plan would be committed to building one million new homes over three years, all while easing mortgage and making federal land available for development.
During the COVID-19 recovery portion of the debate Trudeau stated he was determined to boost vaccination rates to avoid the delta variant impact and also promised to create a billion-dollar fund to aid provinces in paying for vaccine passports.
O’Toole was again criticized for his resistance to the idea of a vaccine mandate for federal public servants and travellers. In response to Trudeau’s claim that vaccinations are the only way to end the pandemic, O’Toole claimed that if Trudeau truly cared about boosting vaccination rates, he wouldn’t have called an election in the midst of a fourth pandemic wave.
Paul took her time to push forward a non-partisan agenda with regards to COVID-19 recovery. She urged members of all political parties to focus on coming together to end COVID-19 rather than politicizing the pandemic. While in agreement with Trudeau on the fact that vaccinations have the power to end pandemics, Paul nevertheless stated that “we need to reasonably accommodate” those individuals who cannot get vaccinated.
Singh concentrated on Canada’s healthcare system and the NDP’s plan to invest in a system better equipped and prepared to handle crises like COVID-19 or the opioid epidemic. To fund his goal of universal pharmacare, Singh aims to increase tax on Canada’s billionaires.
Although last week’s broadcast was the only English language debate leading up to the election on Sept. 20, you can keep up to date on the policies and promises of the six main parties by checking CBC’s Party Platform resource regularly.
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