Juno News - April 24, 2025


Carney expected to balloon the federal budget while Canadians demand cuts

Topics
advance voting turnout issues
Hosted by
Isaac Lamoureux
Mentioned
Justin Trudeau Rosemary Barton Jeff Mark Carney Polyev Pierre Poilievre Drea Humphrey Jagmeet Singh Ezra Levant COVID-19
China accused of targeting Conservatives ahead of election Carney called out for  misleading Canadians about call with Trump

Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

168.42

Word count

1,911

Sentence count

81


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

A record 7.3 million Canadians voted on Election Day, despite ballot shortages at some polling stations. Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to outspend former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by $130 billion, even as most Canadians demand cuts, not more government bloat.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Liberal leader Mark Carney wants to outspend former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by $130 billion,
00:00:11.340 even as most Canadians demand cuts, not more government bloat.
00:00:16.180 A record 7.3 million Canadians headed to advance voting,
00:00:20.380 despite Easter weekend commitments and ballot shortages at some polling stations.
00:00:24.860 CBC's Rosemary Barton falsely claimed remains of Indigenous children were found at residential schools,
00:00:30.300 contradicting her own network's correction that no remains had been confirmed.
00:00:34.220 Hello Canada, it's Thursday, April 24th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.
00:00:38.600 I'm Isaac Lamoureux.
00:00:39.940 And I'm Geoff Knight.
00:00:41.040 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
00:00:43.960 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:48.880 Liberal leader Mark Carney's costed platform includes $130 billion in new spending,
00:00:57.980 marking a tone-deaf response to the majority of Canadians who want to see a reduction in both government spending and bureaucracy.
00:01:04.420 Carney is looking to outspend the Trudeau government,
00:01:06.580 which already infamously saw the highest spending years in Canadian history,
00:01:11.120 excluding COVID-19 pandemic spending.
00:01:13.400 A recent Leger poll found that 43% of Canadians want to see a reduction in government spending
00:01:18.600 compared to the 20% who agree with the potential increase.
00:01:22.220 Another cohort of 16% said they want to see spending maintained,
00:01:26.380 while the remaining 20% said they don't know.
00:01:28.960 While Carney has promised to, quote,
00:01:30.420 balance the operating budget in three years,
00:01:32.800 Canadians appear to be skeptical,
00:01:34.720 with 58% in disbelief of his timeline compared to the 32% who think it can be achieved.
00:01:40.340 Carney has defended the high spending by telling Canadians in Charlotte
00:01:43.380 Town PEI on Monday that, quote,
00:01:45.840 The poll asked Canadians to respond to the 108,000 bureaucrats who were hired since 2016,
00:01:59.080 increasing the cost of the bureaucracy by 73%.
00:02:02.260 When asked what should be done about the size and cost of federal bureaucracy,
00:02:05.880 53% said it's time for a reduction compared to only 4% who would support an increase.
00:02:10.980 Another 24% said to maintain the status quo,
00:02:14.420 while the remaining 19% didn't know.
00:02:17.120 Conservative leader Pierre Pelleufre accused Carney of attempting to bury his spending plan
00:02:21.360 in the news by revealing it over Easter long weekend when he, quote,
00:02:24.600 thought no one was listening.
00:02:26.140 So, Jeff, what are some of the main criticisms Carney's budget has faced since the Liberals released it?
00:02:32.060 Yeah, Isaac, since the Liberals released Mark Carney's costed platform on April 19th,
00:02:36.780 it's been hit with a wave of criticism that highlights its disconnect from the Canadian priorities.
00:02:41.040 One of the sharpest critiques, echoed by Conservative leader Pierre Pelleufre in a National Post article on April 21st,
00:02:47.380 is the sheer scale of the $130 billion in new spending,
00:02:51.360 which Pelleufre called far more costly than Justin Trudeau.
00:02:54.740 He argued that the plan would add nearly a quarter trillion dollars to the federal debt,
00:02:58.600 labeling it inflationary, and warning it would drive up the cost of food, housing, and everyday goods.
00:03:04.820 This resonates with the Leger poll's finding that 43% of Canadians want reduced government spending,
00:03:10.200 not an increase, making Carney's approach seem tone-deaf.
00:03:13.860 Another major criticism focuses on the lack of fiscal restraint.
00:03:17.240 The Fraser Institute, in a piece published on April 22,
00:03:20.360 pointed out that Carney's platform offers no timeline to balance the overall budget,
00:03:24.480 only promising to balance the operating budget in three years,
00:03:28.120 a promise 58% of Canadians doubt, per the Leger poll.
00:03:31.640 Critics argue this mirrors the Trudeau government's habit of borrowing heavily,
00:03:35.540 with debt interest costs already projected at $54.1 billion this year,
00:03:40.380 more than federal health care transfers.
00:03:42.400 The Canadian Taxpayers Federation also chimed in on April 20th,
00:03:45.960 slamming the piece before ignoring the 53% of Canadians who want a smaller bureaucracy.
00:03:50.100 They highlighted that Carney's spending doesn't address the 73% cost increase
00:03:54.680 from the 108,000 bureaucrats hired since 2016,
00:03:58.340 instead adding new programs that could bloat the government further.
00:04:01.540 Finally, Polyev's accusation that Carney released the platform over Easter weekend to bury it
00:04:06.220 suggests a lack of transparency,
00:04:08.520 a sentiment shared by 65% of Canadians in the Leger poll
00:04:11.740 who doubt Carney's ability to manage finances responsibly.
00:04:14.840 The platform's been widely panned as reckless, inflationary,
00:04:17.880 and out of touch with what Canadians want.
00:04:19.720 Yeah, Jeff, something I just wanted to add quick,
00:04:21.720 because I spent many hours looking at both budgets and comparing Polyev's to Carney's.
00:04:28.140 So basically, both budgets used the baseline PBO's projections for deficit,
00:04:33.900 which was under the Trudeau government,
00:04:35.760 and that deficit would have been $141.7 billion between 2025 and 2028.
00:04:42.580 So Polyev's plan would see the deficit fall to $100.6 billion,
00:04:46.560 whereas Carney's plan would see it rise to $224.8 billion in new debt.
00:04:52.720 Canadians decided to beat the Election Day lines and turned out in record numbers
00:04:59.600 to advance polling stations over the Easter long weekend.
00:05:02.980 Elections Canada estimates that nearly 7.3 million Canadians turned out to vote
00:05:07.220 over the four-day period between April 18th and April 21st, a new record.
00:05:11.760 This marks a more than 20% increase in turnout at advance polls,
00:05:15.140 compared to the 2021 election, where 5.8 million voters cast their ballot at advance polling stations,
00:05:21.480 and in 2019, where 4.8 million electors voted.
00:05:24.880 On the first day of advance polling, the Nonpartisan Elections Agency said that more than 2 million people
00:05:30.100 voted on April 18th, a single-day record at advance polls.
00:05:34.240 Some Canadians complained that advance voting would be happening over Easter weekend,
00:05:38.060 an important holiday for Christians across Canada who would be attending church services and family gatherings.
00:05:43.240 Nonetheless, polling stations across the country were packed,
00:05:46.460 with reports of voters waiting in lines for over an hour just to cast their ballot.
00:05:50.240 On the last day of advance polling, one polling station in Crossfield, Alberta,
00:05:54.100 with high turnout from the local community,
00:05:56.340 saw voters unable to vote for an extended period of time as the polling station ran out of plain ballots.
00:06:01.700 The Crossfield and District Community Centre's polling station posted a sign on the office's front door
00:06:06.260 telling voters about the shortage of plain ballots, telling them to return to the polling station at a later time.
00:06:11.380 Crossfield, a small rural community with a population of 4,045 people,
00:06:16.820 is part of the larger riding of Yellowhead, which was easily won by the Conservative Party in 2021,
00:06:22.060 with just over 60% of the vote.
00:06:24.560 In a comment to True North, a spokesperson for Elections Canada said they were notified of the ballot shortage
00:06:29.700 earlier in the day and then replenished the stock of plain ballots within an hour.
00:06:33.120 The Elections Canada spokesperson said,
00:06:36.080 At one poll at the Crossfield and District Community Centre,
00:06:39.260 high turnout resulted in a temporary shortage of ballots,
00:06:41.980 resulting in a 45-minute wait as supplies were replenished.
00:06:45.320 The additional ballots were requested earlier in the day
00:06:47.720 and were already en route when the first batch ran out.
00:06:50.700 So Isaac, were there any other rural or remote findings that faced issues with advanced voting?
00:06:55.600 Yeah, Jeff. So just starting off quick.
00:06:57.360 Elections Canada updated its data today,
00:06:59.440 showing that over 2 million people voted on both Friday and Monday,
00:07:02.920 with closer to 1.5 million voting on each of the weekend days.
00:07:07.160 They also highlighted the number of people that voted in every single province and territory across the country.
00:07:12.140 The provinces with the most turnout were, unsurprisingly,
00:07:14.540 Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, followed closely by Alberta.
00:07:18.980 So despite the issues in this Alberta riding,
00:07:21.120 over 16% of Alberta's population have already cast their ballots.
00:07:25.920 I saw some people online suggesting that this could be because Albertans are eager for a change.
00:07:31.960 Although I've begrudgingly watched past elections be called almost without fail
00:07:35.460 before votes in the West are even counted.
00:07:37.660 I did see online that many advanced polling stations allegedly had lines hours long.
00:07:43.120 Luckily for me, when I went to my station in Edmonton over the weekend,
00:07:45.980 there was no line and it was a seamless process.
00:07:48.340 And all the volunteers were very kind as well.
00:07:50.800 Speaking of volunteers, Elections Canada messaged me today,
00:07:55.520 informing me that many Albertan ridings are still short volunteers.
00:07:59.380 For example, Peace River Westlock is still missing about 150 vacant positions,
00:08:04.000 so we'll have to wait and see if these vacant positions remain
00:08:07.120 and if they cause any issues on April 28th, Election Day.
00:08:11.180 I did see that two villages in northwestern Alberta
00:08:14.060 voiced concerns that there were no longer polling stations in either community
00:08:18.820 and that they'd have to travel a long distance to cast their ballots.
00:08:22.620 Canadians have also revealed that to avoid long lines at their local polling stations,
00:08:27.020 they were able to go instead to their local returning office to vote,
00:08:30.860 which I was told had much more stations, volunteers, and room.
00:08:35.140 Others have revealed inefficiencies they've uncovered at polling stations,
00:08:38.660 which were possibly the reasons for such long lines.
00:08:41.300 I expect that April 28th could be a late night for all of us
00:08:45.220 as we eagerly await the results.
00:08:48.820 CBC News Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton
00:08:54.040 is facing scrutiny after making a false statement
00:08:56.480 about the discovery of Indigenous residential school sites' remarks
00:08:59.800 that contradicted her own network's corrections.
00:09:03.360 During a live panel discussion following the French-language federal leaders' debate
00:09:07.120 on April 16th, Barton claimed,
00:09:09.280 quote,
00:09:10.220 Yes, there have been remains of Indigenous children found in various places across the country.
00:09:14.600 Her comment appeared to be an attempt to discredit Rebel News,
00:09:18.480 whose reporter Drea Humphrey had questioned NDP leader Jagmeet Singh
00:09:21.900 against anti-Christian hatred as it relates to the residential school soil disturbances discovered in 2022.
00:09:28.600 However, CBC issued a clarification the next day,
00:09:31.940 walking back Barton's assertion.
00:09:33.660 Under its Corrections and Clarifications section,
00:09:37.020 the public broadcaster stated,
00:09:38.660 quote,
00:09:38.880 As CBC News has reported on multiple occasions what several Indigenous communities across Canada
00:09:44.140 have discovered on the sites of some former residential schools
00:09:47.580 are potential burial sites or unmarked graves.
00:09:50.480 The statement confirmed that no human remains have yet been confirmed.
00:09:54.580 So, Jeff, has Barton ever addressed her factually incorrect comments?
00:10:00.460 No, Rosemary Barton has not directly addressed her factually incorrect comments
00:10:04.960 about the discovery of Indigenous remains at residential school sites,
00:10:08.880 despite the backlash and CBC's own correction.
00:10:12.380 Following her statement on April 16th,
00:10:14.280 during the live panel discussion where she claimed,
00:10:16.780 Yes, there have been remains of Indigenous children found in various places across the country,
00:10:21.020 neither Barton nor her team issued a personal response or apology.
00:10:25.200 A search of her public statements in social media, including her ex-account,
00:10:28.780 shows no acknowledgement of the error as of April 23rd.
00:10:32.020 Instead, CBC News took the lead,
00:10:34.320 issuing a clarification the next day under its Corrections and Clarifications section,
00:10:38.580 stating that only potential burial sites or unmarked graves have been discovered,
00:10:43.220 with no confirmed human remains.
00:10:45.240 The correction came after significant pushback,
00:10:47.540 including from Rebel News, which Barton appeared to be targeting with her remark.
00:10:51.420 Critics like Ezra Levant,
00:10:52.480 as noted in the Western Standard article from April 21st,
00:10:55.680 called her out for perpetuating a lie,
00:10:57.720 but Barton has remained silent on the matter,
00:10:59.700 leaving the network's statement as the only official response.
00:11:02.740 Her lack of direct engagement has only fueled the scrutiny she's facing.
00:11:05.800 That's it for today, folks.
00:11:10.060 Thanks for tuning in.
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