By The Canadian Press

on the campaign trail

Conservatives focus on homebuilding, Liberals on health care as advance voting ends

Apr 21, 2025 | 10:08 AM

The final week of the federal election campaign kicked off Monday with the major party leaders scattered across the country.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said at an event in Scarborough, Ont., that his party would release its costed platform on Tuesday, a day after advance voting closes.

“Tomorrow we will have a platform for all eyes to see, which will bring change to Canada,” he said.

The Liberals and NDP both unveiled their costed platforms on Saturday.

Poilievre was in the Greater Toronto Area on Monday promising to build 2.3 million homes over the next five years.

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The Conservative platform would tie municipalities’ federal infrastructure funding to their pace of home construction approvals — cities that approve 15 per cent more housing each year would get full funding, while cities that approve fewer homes would collect less.

The party is also proposing to free up federal land for more homebuilding, cut the GST on new homes worth up to $1.3 million and encourage cities to cut development charges.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney was in Charlottetown on the East Coast talking about his health-care plan.

He said a Liberal government would commit $4 billion to provinces to build more hospitals and clinics. The Liberals also say they would work to train more family doctors and nurse practitioners in Canada and recognize foreign health-care credentials so physicians from outside of the country can practise here.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is in B.C., making campaign stops in Nanaimo, Comox and Port Moody.

Each of the leaders took time to mark the passing of Pope Francis.

Carney spoke of the Pope’s call to “reintegrate human values into our economic lives.”

“He reminded us that markets don’t have values, people do,” Carney said.

“I join all Catholics in reflecting on his passing and commit myself to fulfilling his challenge.”

Carney also said Pope Francis’s visit to Canada in 2022 — during which he issued an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the Canadian residential school system — was a “crucial step in moving the church forward in its journey toward meaningful reconciliation.”

When asked by a journalist if that apology went far enough, Carney said it was a “step” on a journey.

“The church, and dare I say all of us, have more to travel on that journey. And certainly my government is committed to advancing reconciliation if we are returned,” he said.

Singh said in a social media post on Monday that Francis showed the world “that faith can be a force for justice.”

“He spoke plainly about poverty, inequality, and the climate crisis.”

Singh added that while Francis’s 2022 apology “was not enough” for many survivors of the residential school system, “it was a step towards recognition of the harm and trauma they experienced.”

Poilievre began his announcement Monday noting that Francis had inspired “millions of Catholics and non-Catholics” with his leadership and faith.

“Our prayers are with all Catholics as they lay to rest the head of the Catholic Church and we are in solidarity in remembering him and honouring his contributions,” he said.

Elections Canada said nearly two million people turned out to cast a ballot on the first day of advance voting, leading to long lineups at some polling stations.

Monday is the fourth and final day that advance polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. before the general election date on April 28.

Until 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Canadians can also either cast their ballot at an Elections Canada office in their riding or apply to vote by mail.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2025.

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