Juno News - April 17, 2025


Immigration axed as topic from English federal leaders' debate


Episode Stats

Length

11 minutes

Words per Minute

149.82657

Word Count

1,771

Sentence Count

76


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 The Leaders Debates Commission has released its program for Thursday night's English debate
00:00:10.180 and immigration will not be on the agenda.
00:00:13.240 The Green Party has been excluded from participating in the federal leaders' debates
00:00:17.460 after strategically deciding to pull candidates from ridings where Conservatives are leading.
00:00:22.460 A new poll shows most Canadians believe that consumers are paying the price
00:00:26.300 when it comes to the industrial carbon tax.
00:00:28.760 Hello Canada, it's Thursday, April 17th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.
00:00:33.420 I'm Cosman Georgia.
00:00:34.720 And I'm Jeff Knight.
00:00:35.760 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
00:00:38.520 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:46.620 The Federal Leaders Debates Commission has axed the topic of immigration from the English language debate on Thursday.
00:00:53.140 Despite immigration being an election issue for voters across Canada,
00:00:57.320 organizers of the English language debate quietly dropped immigration from the list of approved topics.
00:01:03.860 No explanation has been given meaning English-speaking Canadians will not hear federal leaders directly debate immigration policy
00:01:11.460 ahead of the April 28th vote in their native language,
00:01:14.780 but instead had to rely on live translations of the francophone debate last night.
00:01:19.900 Immigration remains a top concern not only for Quebecers,
00:01:23.580 but according to a Leger poll conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies,
00:01:28.640 65% of Canadians say immigration levels are too high.
00:01:32.500 That number has risen steadily from just 35% in 2019,
00:01:36.920 marking one of the most dramatic shifts in public opinion in recent Canadian history.
00:01:41.620 Even among Canadians who identify as part of a visible minority,
00:01:45.080 38% said they hold a negative view of immigration in Canada.
00:01:48.900 Among rural residents, nearly 70% agreed immigration levels are too high compared to 63% of urban respondents.
00:01:57.320 The themes for the English debate selected by a media consortium that includes CBC, CTV, Global News, APTN,
00:02:05.820 CPAC, and TVO Steve Pakin exclude immigration.
00:02:09.920 Instead, the topics will be affordability, energy, crisis leadership, public safety, and tariffs.
00:02:16.120 So we heard last night party leaders debate immigration quite extensively
00:02:21.580 and provide their own views on the topic, but it was in French.
00:02:25.980 And if you weren't listening to the live English translations,
00:02:30.100 which at times are not perfect translations of what's being said,
00:02:34.040 you wouldn't have any idea of what each party leader specifically believes
00:02:38.800 and wants to do if they're elected prime minister.
00:02:41.600 But when we look at the polls, we cited a nationwide poll here in the article, Jeff.
00:02:47.600 But what does support for immigration look like when we break this down by province?
00:02:53.260 The support for the statement,
00:02:54.680 overall there is too much immigration to Canada,
00:02:57.120 shows a clear provincial breakdown that underscores growing concerns across the country,
00:03:01.320 especially relevant given the Leaders Debates Commission's decision
00:03:04.200 to sideline immigration from the English language debate.
00:03:07.040 Manitoba and Saskatchewan lead the pack,
00:03:09.520 with 63% of residents agreeing there's too much immigration,
00:03:13.040 while only 34% disagree.
00:03:15.040 Alberta mirrors this exactly, also hitting 63% in agreement and 34% in disagreement,
00:03:20.080 reflecting a strong prairie sentiment.
00:03:21.980 The Atlantic provinces follow with 56% agreeing and 39% disagreeing,
00:03:26.640 closely trailed by Quebec at the same,
00:03:28.580 56% agreement and a slightly narrower 42% disagreement.
00:03:32.900 British Columbia rounds it out with 53% agreeing and 43% disagreeing,
00:03:38.500 showing the least intensity among those regions.
00:03:40.900 Interestingly, the survey notes that Quebec ranks third,
00:03:44.180 suggesting the issue resonates even more in English Canada,
00:03:47.300 where rural areas like the prairies and Atlantic provinces show particularly high concern,
00:03:52.020 nearly 70% in rural spots versus 63% in urban ones.
00:03:56.000 This provincial spread highlights a broad unease,
00:03:58.460 with the prairies standing out as the most vocal,
00:04:00.440 which makes the debate omission feel like a missed opportunity to address a pressing voter issue.
00:04:08.160 The Green Party will no longer participate in the federal leaders' debates
00:04:11.740 after failing to meet the participation requirements,
00:04:14.800 largely due to their strategic decision to pull candidates from ridings
00:04:18.160 where conservatives are projected to win.
00:04:20.180 The Leaders' Debates Commission wrote in a statement,
00:04:22.600 quote,
00:04:22.780 Criterion 3 requires that,
00:04:43.460 While the Commission had invited the Green Party to participate in the French and English debates
00:04:54.920 because it met all requirements in March,
00:04:57.360 the invitation was revoked after reducing the number of candidates the party would field in this election.
00:05:01.920 The party had initially submitted a list of 343 names,
00:05:05.880 but now only has 232 candidates listed, according to Elections Canada.
00:05:10.340 In addition to the latest removal of those 15 candidates expected to lose out to conservatives,
00:05:14.920 the Green Party would still be left without representation in 96 ridings across Canada.
00:05:19.560 Despite this, the Green Party claimed that they still met the necessary debate criteria,
00:05:23.660 calling the decision an attempt to, quote,
00:05:25.740 silence them, according to party co-leader Jonathan Pedneau.
00:05:29.660 However, the Commission concluded that the party's decision to remove candidates for strategic reasons
00:05:34.660 was the reason for their removal from the debate.
00:05:37.100 So, Cosmin, what reasons have the Green Party cited for their decision to remove candidates from certain ridings?
00:05:42.240 Yeah, so it was a really abrupt change.
00:05:44.680 The Green Party came out this week saying that,
00:05:48.300 essentially, they wouldn't run candidates in over 100 ridings.
00:05:52.440 And specifically pointed to the 15 you mentioned, where conservatives were leading.
00:05:59.480 But what they said was that, in the field, they essentially heard from local progressives,
00:06:06.420 meaning NDP and liberal voters, most likely those who are changing their vote to vote for Mark Carney,
00:06:14.120 that they didn't want a Green candidate to run there.
00:06:17.440 And there is a vote-splitting issue happening this election on the left,
00:06:24.480 because a lot of NDP voters are switching their votes to the liberals,
00:06:31.140 but the holdouts, those who remain loyal to the NDP and the Greens,
00:06:36.220 are being accused of splitting the vote and potentially giving the conservatives an advantage.
00:06:43.620 Now, we've seen this play out here in British Columbia.
00:06:47.260 We just put out an article with Vancouver Island candidate Aaron Gunn.
00:06:51.740 There was a protest that happened outside of his office in Campbell River,
00:06:55.340 where left-wing progressive activists were bused out there,
00:07:00.300 and they were essentially organized by a group that was protesting against vote-splitting.
00:07:05.380 There, the vote is split equally between the liberals and the NDP,
00:07:11.060 giving the conservatives a big leading advantage.
00:07:14.560 So we definitely see this play out.
00:07:16.800 Another issue the Greens raised was that they faced bullying, so to speak,
00:07:23.540 or mean language from locals, the fact that they were running candidates in their ridings.
00:07:29.740 Now, I don't know how much credence to give to this.
00:07:32.460 It does seem to some degree that these are excuses,
00:07:35.700 and they're essentially strategically trying to find ways to help the liberals
00:07:40.800 gain an advantage in certain ridings.
00:07:45.900 A majority of Canadians say that the industrial carbon tax increases the cost of living
00:07:51.020 by driving up prices of everyday goods.
00:07:54.140 A poll conducted by Leger found that 70% of Canadians agree that industry passes on the costs
00:07:59.840 of the industrial carbon tax to consumers in the form of higher prices for goods,
00:08:05.060 with 44% saying it passes on a majority of the costs,
00:08:09.500 and 26% saying the business only absorbs some of the costs.
00:08:14.220 This is in contrast to only 9% of Canadians who say industry passes little or no cost
00:08:19.700 onto consumers while absorbing the majority of the costs.
00:08:23.340 Liberal leader Mark Carney, while having reduced the consumer carbon tax to $0,
00:08:28.180 is a staunch defender of the industrial carbon tax.
00:08:31.580 Despite concerns from Canadians, Carney has maintained that producers,
00:08:36.020 not consumers, would bear the cost of emissions.
00:08:38.920 Federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Franco Teresano,
00:08:43.000 said that the poll's findings contradict Carney's message on the matter.
00:08:47.460 Teresano said, quote,
00:08:48.660 The poll shows Canadians understand that a carbon tax on business
00:08:53.040 is a carbon tax on Canadians that makes life more expensive.
00:08:57.540 Only 9% of Canadians believe Liberal leader Mark Carney's claim
00:09:00.980 that businesses will pay most of the cost of his carbon tax.
00:09:04.920 Teresano said that an industrial carbon tax increases the cost of the vital economic inputs
00:09:10.100 that industry requires to provide goods for the Canadian market.
00:09:13.620 So the Liberals, essentially, at the beginning of their campaign,
00:09:18.120 really ran on this issue that Mark Carney cancelled the carbon tax.
00:09:21.800 But in reality, we know that the law still remains in place.
00:09:26.580 The federal pricing legislation, federal carbon pricing legislation, is still there.
00:09:32.000 It's still on the books.
00:09:33.020 It will require a vote in Parliament to overturn.
00:09:35.860 But what he's done is just removed, or rather reduced,
00:09:39.260 the consumer portion to zero dollars while maintaining the industrial scale,
00:09:44.740 which increases every year, in place.
00:09:48.320 What reasons, Jeff, did the Liberal leader provide to Canadians
00:09:53.120 when he vowed to maintain the industrial carbon tax?
00:09:57.040 And what are some of the prominent criticisms
00:09:58.980 the Conservatives have alleged against the carbon tax?
00:10:03.540 Yeah, Cosman, like you said,
00:10:04.740 Mark Carney has stood firm on maintaining the industrial carbon tax,
00:10:07.900 and he's offered several reasons to justify his stance,
00:10:10.660 despite growing public concern.
00:10:12.640 In a speech on February 17th, as detailed on his campaign site,
00:10:16.960 Carney argued that the tax is essential for driving Canada
00:10:19.740 towards a competitive, low-carbon economy,
00:10:22.560 incentivizing big polluters, large industrial emitters,
00:10:25.560 to adopt cleaner technologies,
00:10:27.200 and positioning Canada to leapfrog the U.S. in global markets.
00:10:30.540 He's also pitched it as a fairness measure,
00:10:32.860 claiming it ensures these companies pair their fair share for emissions,
00:10:36.120 while funding rebates for Canadians who make green choices,
00:10:39.540 like energy-efficient upgrades.
00:10:41.320 During a March press conference in Halifax,
00:10:43.560 Carney doubled down, saying the tax keeps Canada aligned
00:10:46.460 with international climate commitments,
00:10:48.700 avoiding trade penalties from countries pushing green standards.
00:10:51.860 However, according to a Conservative Party release on April 12th,
00:10:55.780 Carney has hinted at escalating the policy,
00:10:58.120 promising a bigger carbon tax to punish industries and consumers alike,
00:11:02.400 if they don't meet his climate goals.
00:11:04.440 This is a move that critics say could hit households even harder.
00:11:07.660 He's maintained that the burden stays with producers, not consumers,
00:11:10.940 but the Leger poll, showing 70% of Canadians believe costs are passed on,
00:11:15.600 with 44% saying a majority, and 26%, only some,
00:11:19.400 directly contradicts this.
00:11:21.220 Carney's framing leans on economic competitiveness
00:11:23.520 and environmental leadership,
00:11:25.160 yet his reluctance to specify the cost to Canadians,
00:11:27.900 especially with threats of a larger tax,
00:11:30.020 leaves that gap wide open for skepticism.
00:11:36.120 That's it for today, folks.
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