Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre vowed to pass legislation to crack down on repeat offenders while Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised to make Canada an energy superpower, as the electoral campaign hit day 18.
During an April 9 stop in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Poilievre said a Conservative government would enact a “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” law that would prevent individuals convicted of three serious offences from getting bail, probation, parole, or house arrest.
He would also ensure three-time serious offenders get a minimum jail sentence of 10 years and up to a life sentence.
“Once-safe streets have become scenes of chaos and disorder,” he said. “For too many Canadians, the threat of crime is now an everyday fact of life. It wasn’t like this before.”
Re-offending criminals would be designated as dangerous offenders and only released after serving a lengthy sentence and exemplary behaviour, clean drug tests, and demonstrating an interest in improving themselves by learning a trade or upgrading their education.
Crime indexes tracked by Statistics Canada have been rising since 2015, whereas they had steadily declined under the previous governments of Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, and Stephen Harper.
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Poilievre attributed the increase to Bills C-5 and C-75, introduced by the Liberal government. Bill C-5 removed mandatory minimum sentences for offences like robbery and extortion with a firearm and was presented as an “anti-racism” measure to reduce the proportion of indigenous and black people in prison.
Bill C-75 instructs judges to consider releasing accused as quickly as possible and under the least onerous conditions. It also has a component saying individuals “overrepresented in the criminal justice system” should receive particular attention.
Poilievre said new legislation will be compliant with the charter and that released criminals are threatening the charter rights of other Canadians.
The statement targeting serious repeat offenders was Poilievre’s third crime-reduction announcement this campaign. In late March, Poilievre said his government would give life sentences to major traffickers of people, drugs, and firearms. Last week he pledged to implement tougher sentences around intimate partner violence.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, campaigning in Calgary on April 9, commented on Poilievre’s plan, saying he does not like the “baseball rule of three strikes and you’re out for a period of time.”
He said, however, that for “serious crimes or habitual crimes, which is the question, the full force of the law should be applied and appropriately severe punishment put in place.” Carney said he would reveal his platform on crime on April 10.
‘Energy Superpower’
Carney’s announcement in Alberta, Canada’s engine of oil and gas production, was related to his plan to make the country the “world’s leading energy superpower.”
He said Canada has been relying too much on the United States, and with President Donald Trump now “rupturing the global economy,” Canada must now “realize its full potential.”
The Liberal leader said his plan to boost Canada’s conventional and clean energy sector involves using Canadian energy to displace imported energy, diversify trade, and increase competitiveness.
“To build the strongest economy in the G7, we need to develop both clean energy and the lowest carbon conventional energy,” he said.
He would increase the clean energy supply chain through critical mineral exploration and extraction and speed up the approval of clean energy projects that are of national interest.
The Liberals said they will develop energy projects while reducing emissions as part of climate change policies.
“We will work with the oil and gas sector to reduce their emissions in a cost effective and efficient manner; we cannot lose sight of our obligation to address climate change while ensuring the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s energy sector,” the party said in a news release.
Carney was asked by reporters whether he would commit to build new oil and gas pipelines. He said he reached agreement with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the other premiers during his first week as prime minister to “build energy corridors that run to the national interest, to fast track those, to make that tangible.”
Poilievre has questioned Carney’s willingness to build oil and gas infrastructure given his advocacy for net-zero policies and for not wanting to repeal Bill C-69, the 2019 law requiring impact assessments for resource or infrastructure projects. Poilievre calls it the “no new pipelines act.”
“We‘ll repeal the Liberal ’no new development laws’ to unleash the strength of our economy and stand up to the Americans from a position of might,” Poilievre said on April 9.
