Fractious debate sees leaders trade blows over Trump, Trudeau and the cost of living

With polls showing Liberal Leader Mark Carney is the front-runner in this federal election, the other three main party leaders on stage for Thursday's English-language debate spent much of the contest trying to tear him down.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at Carney early on in the high-stakes debate, saying his government would not be all that different from the one led by his unpopular predecessor, former prime minister Justin Trudeau. He urged voters to make a change.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was chippy throughout the debate, frequently interrupting Poilievre and Carney as he jockeys to get noticed while polls suggest support for his party has cratered. He spent much of his time trying to paint Carney as an out-of-touch elite who will cut public services.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet was on a similar message track, accusing Carney of being a corporate bigwig who won't stand up for Quebec's interests.

Carney held his own in the face of the onslaught, trying to portray himself as the adult in the room who is best placed to help steer Canada through a period of tremendous upheaval with its once-solid relationship with the U.S. in tatters and the economy on shaky ground.

"Mark Carney is asking for a fourth Liberal term. Are you prepared to elect the same Liberal MPs, the same Liberal ministers, the same Liberal staffers all over again for a fourth term?" Poilievre said.

Carney took Poilievre on, saying the Conservative leader is trying to paint him as Trudeau 2.0 and it's just not true — he will be laser-focused on the economy and producing results on the issues that matter most to Canadians after years of inaction on some big files.

"It may be difficult for Mr. Poilievre. You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax and they are both gone," Carney said. "I am a very different person than Justin Trudeau. I am focused on results."

As for the claim he is taking direction from Trudeau's people, Carney said with a smile: "Look, I do my own talking points thank you very much."

Carney said Canada is facing the greatest crisis of our lifetimes with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening the country's economy and its very existence and he jumped into politics now because he has what it takes to the lead the country through the "Trump crisis" and this perilous moment.

He said that only weeks into his tenure as prime minister, he has already crafted an agreement with the provinces to break down decades-old internal trade barriers that have long held back domestic free trade by Canada Day.

He said Canada's retaliatory tariffs are hitting the Americans where it hurts and he is poised to sit down with Trump to hash out a new bilateral agreement after this election.

"We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can take away," Carney said. "The biggest risk we have to face is Donald Trump. We've got to get that right."

Poilievre returned to the theme of Carney being a Trudeau repeat throughout the debate and, in a particularly dramatic moment, he asked the current Liberal leader at one point to apologize to Canadians for the inflation they experienced in the post-COVID period.