Carney heading to Calgary for first Alberta campaign stop
Liberals looking to build on the two seats they had when Parliament was dissolved
Liberal Leader Mark Carney heads to Calgary tonight, for his first Alberta stop in a campaign where he's been drawing a contrast with Premier Danielle Smith.
Carney is in the Vancouver area and will start his day with a press conference in the suburb of Delta. He will then visit a local business in New Westminster, before flying to Calgary in the afternoon.
Carney is set to hold a rally in Calgary with local candidates.
Conservative candidates in Alberta have been heavily criticizing Carney, suggesting he has given mixed messages on whether he supports the energy sector and building more pipelines.
The Liberals are hoping a meteoric rise in the polls will hold, and allow them to build on the two Alberta seats they had when Parliament was dissolved last month.
The party had an Edmonton MP, Randy Boissonnault, who resigned from cabinet amid varying claims about his Indigenous ancestry and questions about business dealings.
The Liberals had a Calgary MP, George Chahal, who paid a $500 fine after a video showed him replacing an opponent's pamphlet with his own during the 2021 election.
On Monday, Carney told a rally in Richmond, B.C., that he hopes to unify the country with workable solutions to the problems Canada faces.
"I'm not a career politician. I am a pragmatist," he declared, prompting roaring applause from thousands gathered in a hotel ballroom.
Lynn Pernisie said she attended the rally with her husband Darrell because they were encouraged by Carney's pledge to accelerate home building. She said the Liberals' investments over the past decade are only now starting to make a difference.
"Prices are dropping off and so many condos are being built, so I think there's going to be a change," she said.
The couple built a life in Vancouver since moving from Saskatchewan more than three decades ago, but they say many friends are struggling to do the same under "astronomical" housing prices.
She supported Justin Trudeau's government but said she feels that "Carney has a lot of really good experience that Justin didn't have."
Carney told Monday's rally that the Liberals would stand up for Canada against fights he said the U.S. has been picking.
"Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves," he said.
Earlier this week, Carney said Ontario Premier Doug Ford had been pushing Canada's case on the conservative Fox News network, where Carney said it would be "a bad idea" to have Smith appear.
Smith has come under fire for telling U.S. media that the White House should pause the tariffs until after the election, and suggesting that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is "very much in sync" with the Trump administration.
Smith shot back at Carney on Monday, saying that his jokes suggest the same kind of dismissive attitude she encountered when dealing with former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
On Monday evening, Carney told dozens of supporters gathered in an overflow room outside a rally in Richmond, B.C. that Canada is fighting U.S. tariffs using the tools that will work.
"Americans understand three things: money, lawyers and Fox News," he said.