As global markets continue to wobble on Day 20 of the federal election campaign, Liberal Leader Mark Carney will be wearing his prime minister's hat Friday after rallying in vote-rich southwestern Ontario.
According to a read-out from the Prime Minister's Office, Carney Friday spoke with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission about deepening economic ties between Canada and the trading bloc of 27 countries, and about measures to protect Ukraine.
Carney also touched on these subjects during a rally in Hamilton, where he promised Canada would lead in building a coalition of like-minded countries committed to free and fair trade.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, has remained in southwestern Ontario, rallying Friday morning at the Ontario Shipyards' facility in St. Catharines, part of the Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario.
He spoke near the Welland Canal that connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie around Niagara Falls.
He evoked the canal 鈥� whose first phase pre-dates Confederation 鈥� as an example of the can-do-spirit that would guide his government in building Canada's infrastructure and economy through tax cuts for families and companies and unlocking natural resources.
Poilievre said the measures would add up to "rocket fuel" for the Canadian economy after what he called a "lost Liberal decade" of stagnant economic growth under "America's thumb" abroad and rising crime rates at home. Canada cannot afford a fourth Liberal term, he said.
But Poilievre also continued to face questions about the performance of his own party after leading Conservative strategist Kory Teneycke accused the party of blowing the lead it had mere months ago.
鈥淏lowing a 25-point lead and being like 10 points down is campaign malpractice at the highest level," Teneycke said on the Curse of Politics podcast Thursday morning.
Poilievre responded by saying he had answered that question in the past, adding that Liberals and lobbyists want him to stop talking about rising food and housing costs as well as rising crime rates.
"We need a change with a new Conservative government that will axe taxes, build homes, unleash our resources, lock up criminals and bring home a safe, affordable country for our people," he said.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, has joined Carney in Ottawa, where he will speak at the Broadbent Institute鈥檚 2025 Progress Summit, a self-described progressive policy conference.
Federal Green Co-Leader Elizabeth May is spending Friday travelling from Moncton to British Columbia, where she will rally in the Greater Victoria riding of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke. May's co-leader Jonathan Pedneault is spending Friday campaigning in his Montreal-area riding.
