‘Who’s ready to stand up for Canada?’

Jubilation and patriotism were on full display as Mark Carney, flanked by Liberal candidates and supporters, held a rousing campaign rally attended by hundreds of Winnipeggers at the convention centre Tuesday evening,

Supporters, decked out in red clothing, carried signs that read “Carney For Canada” as they chanted the Liberal leader’s name and sang parts of O Canada.

The rally capped a day in the city in which he made no new announcements but reiterated promises related to housing and the economic response to American tariffs.

Carney’s team announced he would pause his campaign following the rally to head to Ottawa to prepare for meetings Wednesday, the day U.S. President Donald Trump has dubbed “Liberation Day” as he’s set to impose reciprocal tariffs on several countries.

At the rally, where people were turned away because the hall was at capacity, Carney was introduced by Ben Carr and Ginette Lavack, Liberal candidates for Winnipeg South Centre and St. Boniface-St. Vital, respectively. Carney walked out to raucous applause just past 7 p.m.

“I have a question: who’s ready to stand up for Canada?” he said to enthusiastic cheers.

He took shots at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was in Winnipeg Saturday for a rally of his own, several times throughout his 30-minute speech.

“I certainly know that a person who worships Donald Trump like Pierre Poilievre will kneel down before him, before he stands up to him,” he said, prompting the crowd to boo. “With Pierre Poilievre, everything will be on the table.”

He quoted Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said Poilievre was “in sync” with Trump in a March interview.

“Sounds like a boy band,” Carney joked.

Diana Fox Carney spoke at the rally, marking the first time his wife has taken centre stage at a campaign event.

She said that on their first date, he said he was devoted to returning to Canada to work in public service. They were in the U.K. at the time.

“This is a man of unusual conviction, of integrity, of values,” she said.

Supporters said they left the rally even more confident that Carney is Canada’s best chance against the changing tides south of the border.

“Mark Carney is the guy,” said John Perrin while leaving the rally with his wife, Judith Perrin.

“He’s probably the most qualified person to run for the position of prime minister in my lifetime, and he comes right at the right moment.”

The couple said they live in Winnipeg South Centre and are ready to fight for candidate Carr.

“We need somebody with an international reputation and an education and experience to handle Donald Trump,” John said.

During his first campaign stop in Winnipeg Tuesday, Carney focused on affordability measures and discussed the U.S. tariff threat.

He was joined by local candidates at bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries in Transcona earlier in the day, where he pledged to “level the playing field” with the U.S.

Carney called the impact of Trump’s measures on the Canadian economy “the biggest crisis of our lifetime” and pointed to the hit on automotive industries, using New Flyer as an example.

“With respect to the auto sector, given the current structure of U.S. auto tariffs, we have held back until we see the next measures from the U.S. (Wednesday),” he told the crowd.

“We have held back, but we will not disadvantage Canadian producers and Canadian workers relative to American workers.”

In the afternoon, Premier Wab Kinew met with Carney in his capacity as prime minister to discuss the “Team Canada” response to tariffs.

“Manitoba has so many amazing jobs where people go to work every day supplying things that the United States needs,” Kinew said afterwards.

“…Tariffs are going to make life more expensive for Americans. For us as a provincial government and for the federal government to work together to support your jobs during this period, so that we can have Americans apply that pressure to their Trump administration, that’s important,” the premier told reporters.

He said Carney told him that Canada’s response will be “calibrated, fine-tuned” and “proportional.”

“The biggest news story in the world is going to happen right when Donald Trump announces the tariffs,” Kinew said.

“For Manitoba to have our voice at the federal level, the province bringing that forward, is really important, so that we protect jobs and stand up for our economy.”

The premier acknowledged the federal election, and said he reached out to Poilievre Tuesday and that he would meet with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh late Tuesday.

“I want to make sure that we’re sharing that same message with each of them— underlining the importance of agriculture, mining, manufacturing and to have a strong response for Team Manitoba.”

At the event at New Flyer, Carney focused largely on affordability and his housing plan that was unveiled Monday, which he called the “most ambitious… since the Second World War.”

The policy would create Build Canada Housing, a new federal entity to provide financing to builders and speed up affordable-housing construction.

He pledged to maintain affordability programs in place and “double-down on what’s working already,” pointing to $10-a-day child care.

When asked about expanding pharmacare, he again promised the current standard would be in place, but any expansion would be “in the context of decisions around a range of priorities.”

Manitoba was the first province to sign a pharmacare deal with the federal government for diabetes medication, contraceptives and other medical supplies. The announcement was made in February.

Carney used his appearance to cite his party’s promises to cut taxes, eliminate the GST for many first-time home purchases and expand dental coverage.

Two of the Liberal candidates who appeared at Carney’s Manitoba campaign event Tuesday morning expressed the hope that the party can capitalize on what polls suggest is declining national NDP support.

Rebecca Chartrand, who is looking to unseat longtime NDP MP Niki Ashton in a northern Manitoba riding, said she’s encouraged by what she’s hearing from voters she meets.

“I think people want to see change. That’s what we’re hearing at the doors,” she said.

Ginette Lavack — who is running for the Liberals in Saint Boniface-Saint Vital, after former Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal didn’t seek re-election — said she thinks seats that formerly enjoyed strong NDP support are “absolutely” in play, despite the fact that Manitoba has a popular NDP premier.

“Provincial and federal politics are different, and I think people recognize that,” she said. “When they’re looking at the national picture, the Liberal is the choice.”

Carney also made a noon-hour campaign stop at Mangkok International Cuisine, a Filipino restaurant on Notre Dame Avenue.

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Flanked by Liberal MPs Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South), Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North) and Winnipeg Centre candidate Rahul Walia, he was applauded by diners who snapped photos, including selfies.

Poilievre became the first federal leader to campaign on the Prairies when he landed in Winnipeg Saturday.

He announced a plan to expand tax write-offs for trade workers and discussed exporting oil out of the Port of Churchill.

— with files from Carol Sanders, Scott Billeck, The Canadian Press

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.