Attack jolts last day of Canada election campaign

Canadian leaders have made their final push for votes a day before an election dominated by Donald Trump, but rocked by a deadly car-ramming attack.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a candlelight vigil for those who died in the Vancouver attack. Picture: Getty Images

Canadian leaders have made their final push for votes a day before an election dominated by Donald Trump, but rattled in the campaign’s final hours by a deadly car-ramming attack in Vancouver.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberal Party leader, is favoured to beat Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in the election on Monday (Tuesday AEST), but polls show the race has tightened in recent days.

Mr Carney briefly paused his campaign schedule on Sunday to address the nation after a driver ploughed into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the west coast city, killing 11 people.

Mr Carney, a 60-year-old father of four, teared up as he voiced support for those affected.

“Last night families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter,” he said.

“Those families are living every family’s nightmare.”

Mr Carney later visited Vancouver to attend a memorial at a church held in honour of the victims of the attack.

A 30-year-old man who police said had a history of mental health issues was charged with murder, with further charges expected.

Mr Poilievre, appearing alongside his wife at a church in the election battleground city of Mississ-auga, west of Toronto, condemned the attack as a “senseless act of violence”.

“Our hearts are with you today,” he said. “All Canadians are united in solidarity with the Filipino community.”

The Vancouver attack briefly shifted the nation’s focus away from the US President, whose trade war and threats to annex Washington’s northern neighbour have outraged Canadians.

Polling consistently shows Canadians believe Mr Carney – a former investment banker who also led the central banks of Canada and England – is the strongest candidate to take on Washington.

Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida Poilievre during a campaign stop near Ottawa, Picture: AFP

Since replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister on March 14, Mr Carney has sought to convince voters that his resume has prepared him to lead Canada through a trade war and respond to tariffs that are pinching key sectors such as auto and steel.

Mr Poilievre, a 45-year-old who has been in parliament for two decades, has worked to keep the focus on living costs that soared during Mr Trudeau’s ­decade in power, arguing Mr Carney would bring a continuation of what he calls failed Liberal ­governance.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd in the southern Ontario city of Oakville on Sunday, Mr Poilievre told supporters “time is running out”.

“Only one more day to bring home change so that Canadians can afford food and homes and live on safe streets,” he said.

At the rally, Tory supporter Janice Wyner said the country was “just in a mess”. “I’m 70 years old,” she said. “It’s not even a country that I recognise and I’m worried for my grandkids.”

Her estimation of the Liberals was not flattering, saying Mr Trudeau’s “policies stunk and it’s the same party”.

At the start of the year, Mr Poilievre appeared on track to be Canada’s next prime minister.

His party led the Liberals by more than 20 points in most polls on January 6, the day Mr Trudeau announced his plans to resign.

But the Trudeau-for-Carney swap, combined with nationwide unease about Mr Trump, has transformed the race.

Public broadcaster CBC’s poll aggregator on Sunday put the Liberals’ national support at 42.8 per cent, with the Conservatives at 38.8 per cent.

National polling numbers may not predict a result.

When voting closes on Monday (Tuesday AEST), Conservatives will be closely watching the performance of the left-wing New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

In past Canadian elections, strong NDP performances in Ontario and British Columbia, and a good showing by the Bloc in Quebec, have curbed Liberal seat tallies, but polls suggest both smaller parties could be facing a setback.

AFP