OTTAWA — Mark Carney’s Liberals are taking a four-point edge over Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives into election day on Monday, according to the last Postmedia-Leger poll of the campaign.

The Liberals were the preferred choice of 43 per cent of respondents, with 39 per cent saying they backed the Conservatives.

Andrew Enns, an executive vice-president at Leger, said that there’s been little movement between the top two parties over the campaign’s final stretch.

“You have two heavyweight political opponents slugging it out. Nobody’s giving an inch, but no one’s getting one either,” said Enns.

Support for both parties held

steady from last week

, with neither gaining or losing any ground.

The Liberals were in the lead with all age cohorts except for 35 to 54 year olds, where the Conservatives led by a 44 to 38 margin.

Eight in 10 respondents said their choice was final or they’d already voted at the advance polls.

Forty per cent said that Carney would make the best prime minister of any party leader, giving him a nine-point edge over Poilievre.

Carney beat Poilievre across all age groups, eclipsing him by 20 points among respondents 55 and older.

Carney’s personal appeal transcended party lines, with 24 per cent of NDP voters and 30 per cent of Bloc voters saying he would do the best job as prime minister.

Fifty-four per cent said they expected the Liberals to win Monday’s election. Exactly half that, 27 per cent, said they expected the Tories to win.

The NDP and Bloc Québécois were well behind the top two parties, polling at seven and five per cent, respectively.

Both parties were one point down

from last week’s poll

, showing little evidence of any movement from left-leaning voters who flocked to the Liberals at the start of the campaign to prevent a Conservative win.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet have both retooled their pitches to voters heading into the campaign’s final stretch, pointing to the

likelihood of a Liberal win

and arguing that their respective parties will play a critical role in keeping a Carney-led government in check.

A quarter of respondents, including almost half of Liberal voters, said the NDP would be their second choice. The Liberals were the second choice for 14 per cent, with the Conservatives and Bloc both in the single digits.

The survey was taken between April 21 and 25, using a sample of 1,502 adults recruited from a Leger-founded panel. Online polls are not considered representative samples and thus don’t carry a margin of error. However, the poll document provides an estimated margin, for comparison purposes, of plus or minus 2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

National Post

rmohamed@postmedia.com

• Why Trudeau’s exit was the worst thing that ever happened to Pierre Poilievre
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Pope Francis was to be buried at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome on Saturday following a funeral mass in St. Peter’s Square. The ceremony began at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). Among the oldest traditions that mark the funeral preparations for Pope Francis is the destruction of his signet ring, the Ring of the Fisherman, one of the most storied pieces of papal regalia. Kissing the pope’s ring as a sign of respect is such a famous gesture that is has become a general expression for deference to authority, and the practice occasionally bothered Francis so much on grounds of hygiene and infection control that he would sometimes withdraw his right hand when people went to kiss it as they met him. Each pope gets his own new ring made at his investiture, which is then destroyed at the end of his papacy, which usually but not always coincides with his death. The National Post runs through the history and significance of this ring that is known in Latin as the “Anulus piscatoris.”

Why does the pope have a ring?

Originally, in about the 6th century, the ring was intended as a unique seal for private correspondence and other papal writings that were less formal than a “papal bull,” the grand official pronouncements that are so called because they are authenticated with a lead seal called a “bulla.” That practice is no longer in use, but the ring tradition remains.

Why is it destroyed after his death?

This practice of destroying the ring ensured there could be no faked letters that might conveniently emerge during the period when there is no pope. The tradition is carried out after confirmation of a pope’s death by the “camerlengo,” a cardinal who manages Vatican affairs, who destroys the ring with a ceremonial silver hammer. When Benedict XVI resigned the papacy in 2013, his elaborate gold ring was not destroyed but rather defaced by cutting a cross into the gold. Francis’s ring is a simpler piece than Benedict’s, and was repurposed from a gold-plated silver ring already owned by the Vatican, with an image of Saint Peter holding the keys to heaven. When Francis appeared in public, however, he more commonly wore an even simpler silver ring with just a cross on it.

Where do popes buy their jewellery?

These are almost always custom pieces, although Francis’s ring was not newly made for him. It had previously been owned by Archbishop Pasquale Macchi, the private secretary of Pope Paul VI, a key force behind the mid-20th century reforms of the Second Vatican Council. It was made by the late Enrico Manfrini, an Italian goldsmith and sculptor who is known for major works including a door to the Cathedral of Siena and statues of several popes.

Why is it called the Piscatory Ring?

The Piscatory Ring, or the Ring of the Fisherman, is a direct nod to Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, the seat held by popes. Peter was a fisherman in Galilee when he first followed Jesus, so the image on the papal ring is often of Peter in a boat. But it also refers to the significance of fish in Christian symbolism. For example, early Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire, and Peter himself is reputed to have been crucified by the Emperor Nero, and buried on what is now the site of Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. In that climate of fear, the sign of the fish became a secret symbol of Christianity in reference to Peter and the apostles, whom Jesus had encouraged to be “fishers of people,” and also for the Greek spelling of the word fish, “ichthys,” which can be seen as an acronym for the Greek expression “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.” The symbol carried on into medieval literature. In some renderings of King Arthurian legend, for example, the wounded Fisher King is the mysterious keeper of the Holy Grail.

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• What is the process for choosing a new Pope?

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OTTAWA — If this Canadian election is the most important in a generation, why do the two main parties seem to be running less public — or at least lower profile — campaigns?

Or, as some party officials insist, is it just that shaking hands, kissing babies, countless campaign stops and the other greatest hits from the past are no longer the smartest strategies?

With just a few days to go before Canadians head to the polls, Liberal Leader Mark Carney and the Conservatives’ Pierre Poilievre seem to be less focused on staying in the public’s eye, at least in comparison with previous campaigns.

The leaders, particularly Carney, are making noticeably fewer public campaign stops than many of their predecessors. Carney has also left the campaign trail three times by taking advantage of the incumbent’s opportunities to be seen as prime ministerial by returning to Ottawa for work-related matters.

While Poilievre has held large rallies that are very public, coverage of those events has been tightly controlled. Campaign staff make efforts to ensure that party attendees, including MPs, don’t speak with reporters — even outside the venues. The Conservatives’ efforts to maintain a tightly controlled campaign even include discouraging candidates from attending all-candidates’ debates in their ridings.

“The nature of campaigning has definitely changed,” said Anthony Koch, the managing principal at AK Strategies and former spokesman for Poilievre.

Koch said the Conservatives aren’t trying to run a lower-profile campaign, but are just emphasizing digital messaging over media interviews. Whereas journalists used to have a monopoly on providing campaign news, campaigns can now “micro-target” voters through podcasts, niche media, social media influencers and other online platforms, he said.

The leaders of both parties have also seemed to devote more campaign interviews with local or ethnic media.

And the two leaders’ debates, while generally substantive and lively, were void of any notable attempts to go for an opponent’s jugular. That meant less follow-up coverage.

These strategies seem at odds with Campaigning 101, which says that a candidate’s priorities are to get their messages out as often and as loudly as possible.

To make the campaign even cooler, there are also fewer policy differences between the two main contenders than might be expected. Carney moved quickly to remove or reduce some of the key policy distinctions. On March 14, just hours after being sworn in as prime minister, he cancelled the consumer carbon tax. A week later, he cancelled the proposed increase to the capital gains inclusion rate.

Both policy moves had been advocated strenuously by Poilievre before Carney co-opted them.

When the two parties’ platforms were finally released in late April, there was again plenty of overlap: promised tax cuts and spending hikes that meant little interest in balancing the budget, commitments to pipelines or at least “major projects,” and modest commitments to defence spending increases.

So if the stakes are so high in this election, as everyone seems to agree, why aren’t the campaigns’ profiles following suit?

Dennis Pilon, a political science professor at York University in Toronto, said the tightly controlled and seemingly low-profile campaigns are largely a function of technological changes that make candidates less reliant on trying to grab a newspaper headline or get a sound bite on television.

Political parties today would often rather use YouTube, Instagram and other social media to speak directly to voters, Pilon said, instead of the more traditional approaches that included allowing their messages to be filtered through journalists.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, if you weren’t in the (traditional) media, you just didn’t exist.”

And from a campaign’s point of view, sometimes less is more. Or more is less.

Party sources agreed with Pilon that the strategic changes have a lot to do with the digital age.

A Liberal campaign source said it’s much easier to reach masses of voters through the various digital and social media platforms than the old ways.

“We’re adjusting to the time.”

Campaign officials admit that leaders’ personalities and predilections also play a role. Some candidates, such as former prime minister Justin Trudeau, seem to love and gain energy from campaign stops, while others prefer policy and would rather be doing anything other than enduring small talk at a community barbeque.

The Liberal campaign source said that Carney is a much different candidate than Trudeau, who kept a frenetic pace on the campaign trail. There are “different leadership styles.”

Campaign officials and academics also say that campaign schedules are also influenced by how well a candidate is doing in the race. In Carney’s case, for example, most recent opinion polls have him ahead by about a handful of percentage points, likely leaving his campaign team more risk averse.

Sanjay Jeram, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, said in many circumstances the risk outweighs the reward in exposing a candidate to high-profile events or interviews. “There’s almost more to be lost than to be gained, especially if you’re the front-runner.”

But Jeram also pointed out that the new campaign strategies and the “message discipline” may come with a cost in a democratic society. It’s now easier to mislead voters, he said, because many will receive their political messages without the context that journalists traditionally have provided.

National Post

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Postmedia Network journalist Aaron Beswick, a reporter at the Chronicle Herald in Halifax, has been named journalist of the year by the prestigious National Newspaper Awards, one of two Postmedia winners at a gala ceremony Friday night.

Beswick, who was also the winner of the E. Cora Hind Award for Local Reporting, was honoured for his coverage of lawlessness in Nova Scotia’s lobster and eel fisheries.

“He shed light on a topic that is important to the industry, Canadians nationwide and internationally,” the award judges said.

That award is meant to recognize such extraordinary journalism that it deserves further recognition. Judges selected Beswick’s work as a stand-out among the 16 winning works submitted by one or two journalists.

“Some stories are simply unforgettable, some journalists beyond exceptional,” the National Newspaper Awards says in its explanation of the award.

Beswick was joined as an award winner by Postmedia journalist Brandon Harder of the Regina Leader-Post, for his intensive telling of the story where police went undercover to get Joe Thauberger to confess to the murder of his brother. Harder won the William Southam Award for Long Feature.

“Our strength has always been rooted in our deep connection to communities across the country, with our organization being almost entirely focused on local reporting, so I’m gratified to see the recognition for Brandon Harder of the Regina Leader-Post and Aaron Beswick of The Chronicle Herald in Halifax,” said Duncan Clark, Postmedia’s chief content officer.

“Aaron being chosen as Journalist of the Year is also a wonderful representation of the commitment from all our teams in Atlantic Canada that made our recent acquisition there so important.”

Michael de Adder, a freelance cartoonist whose nomination included work for the Chronicle Herald, received the editorial cartooning award.

Multiple other Postmedia journalists received nominations for their work.

“We are immensely proud of all our nominees and congratulate our deserving winners tonight,” said Clark. “It’s no mistake that the common thread in all the nominations from Postmedia’s products is how they speak to our mission to bring Canadians together through informed, meaningful journalism.

The Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun jointly received three nominations. The Financial Post, Vancouver Sun/The Province, Ottawa Citizen/Ottawa Sun and Saskatoon StarPhoenix also all received nominations.

Naimul Karim, of the Financial Post, was nominated in the business reporting category for his coverage of Canada’s changing immigration laws and the way they are affecting thousands of foreign workers.

At the Calgary Herald, cartoonist Patrick LaMontagne was nominated for his editorial cartoons. Jim Wells, a long-time Calgary photographer, was nominated for best news photo for his stunning shot of people trying to rescue a deer that had fallen through the ice of the Bow River.

The Calgary Herald/Calgary Sun was also nominated for the John Honderich Award for Project of the Year for its “Squeezed” series, which looked at the rising cost of living and how it’s affected Calgarians.

Kim Bolan, a veteran crime reporter at the Vancouver Sun/The Province, was nominated for the Norman Webster Award for International Reporting. Bolan reported from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Southeast Asia, detailing the reach of B.C.’s criminal organizations.

In the local reporting category, which Beswick won, Julia Peterson at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix had also been nominated, for her extensive coverage of the two inquests into the James Smith Cree Nation mass killings.

And in the sports reporting category, Ken Warren and Tony Caldwell at the Ottawa Citizen/Ottawa Sun were nominated for their feature about an Ottawa man who cuts a hole through the ice so he can hop in for a daily swim.

The awards were announced at a gala Friday evening in Montreal.

The NNAs received 864 entries from 82 publications across Canada for the 2024 iteration of its awards.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Friday he is “open” to revisiting electoral reform but that it’s not a priority in the current political climate. And if he were to follow that route, he would not look to “tip the scales” like his predecessor Justin Trudeau.

Speaking in Sault Ste. Marie, Carney would not directly commit to changing the current electoral system and said that commitment is absent from his party’s platform. Trudeau abandoned the idea in his first term in office and

recently said it was one of his biggest regrets

.

“Government is about making priorities and given the scale of the economic crisis that we’re facing, the security crisis we’re facing, our commitment to supporting Canadians through a range of social programs… Candidly, it is not in the platform,” Carney said.

Carney offered his personal view on the issue. “I think… a prime minister should be neutral on these issues, so that a process — if a process is developed — that they are objective and not to be seen to tip the scales in one direction or another,” he said.

“I think that… looking back on what happened previously, that probably is part of what stalled progress on it,” he added.

Trudeau famously promised that the 2015 election would be the last time Canadians elect their federal government under the first-past-the-post system — where the person which gets the most votes in each constituency becomes the member of Parliament.

An all-party committee released a report in December 2016 recommending that a referendum be held to switch to proportional representation, but it became clear that there was no emerging consensus from all parties — especially from the governing Liberals.

While the report had the sign-off from the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and Greens agreed with the overall conclusion of the report but questioned the necessity to hold a referendum.

Liberals released their own supplementary report which suggested that their prime minister’s self-imposed deadline to approve of a new system by 2019 was too “rushed.”

Trudeau opted to abandon his election promise a few months later. In a mandate letter to his newly appointed Minister of Democratic Institutions, in February 2017, he wrote that a “clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus, has not emerged.”

Trudeau had made it clear by that point that he was not as interested in changing the system by which his party won power.

And while at the time Trudeau did not openly push for a ranked ballot — which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference and eliminates the least popular option until a candidate has more than 50 per cent support — it was clearly his preferred option.

In 2021, he admitted that

he “never flinched in (his) desire for ranked ballots”

and said he would not favour proportional representation because it would help fringe parties.

When Trudeau announced his resignation as prime minister in early January, he said that not moving forward on electoral reform was one of his “many regrets.”

“I do wish that we’d been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country so that people could choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot,” he said.

“Parties would spend more time trying to be people’s second or third choices and people would be looking for things they have in common rather than trying to polarize and divide Canadians against each other.”

Carney said there “may be a point” where a re-elected Liberal government may have advanced on “other immediate, pressing priorities” like Canada’s relationship with the U.S. and that “those more structural issues in our democracy could be addressed.”

In French, he said he is “open” to the idea but that now is not the moment to engage in the process.

National Post

calevesque@postmedia.com

• Poilievre pledges to cancel Parliament’s ‘summer vacation’ to pass three key bills
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Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. — Mark Carney has a winking problem.

He winked at the camera at Rideau Hall on the day he became prime minister.

He winked at a senator when he appeared before a committee last May.

In 2014, the Daily Telegraph remarked on how he tipped the BBC’s then-economic editor Robert Peston the wink during a press conference when he was governor of the Bank of England. The Telegraph interpreted this as Carney letting the recipient of the wink know: “Yeah, we both know this is theatre.”

If all the world’s a stage, then politicians are its key players.

The revelation that the Liberal leader told the truth, but not the whole truth, about his March 28th call with Donald Trump plays into the idea that he is playing to different audiences. On Thursday, Carney confirmed that Trump spoke about Canada becoming the 51st state — which was not the impression he left after the call when he maintained that the president had respected Canada’s sovereignty.

A senior source with knowledge of the call has told the National Post that the perception created by the Canadian read-out after the call is at odds with what actually happened. The Canadian read-out said the call was “a very constructive conversation about the relationship between the two countries.”

The official release said the leaders agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship and that Carney told Trump that his government would implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers after April 2nd.

Since then, the central plank of Carney’s campaign is that he is taking a tougher line with Trump than other international leaders, and is best positioned to negotiate a new deal with the president.

But the source said the read-out did not include the fact that Carney flagged for the president that he would need to talk tough about America and Trump during the election.

Carney is also said to have called Trump “a transformative” president that he’d like to work with.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney did not tell President Trump that he would have to criticize him during the campaign.

Readers can make their own minds up what they believe. I would only note that the Prime Minister’s Office denied details in the Radio-Canada story on Trump and Carney’s call, before the Liberal leader confirmed its central premise.

It is important because Carney’s whole campaign revolves around his assertion that Trump “betrayed us” and that he will take a hard line in future negotiations.

“The president’s latest comments are more proof, as if we needed any, that the old relationship with the United States is over,” he said in a press conference at Algoma Steel on Friday morning. “We will stand with every single Canadian worker targeted by President Trump’s attacks on our country. We will stand with you.”

But it sounds like the reality on March 28th was hardly elbows up.

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Trump is a narcissist, so flattering him is the quickest way to his heart. Carney has already committed to securing a new deal on trade and security, which would buy time, even if there would be no guarantees that the president would stick to its terms.

But if the prime minister tipped the president the wink in his call, tacitly urging him to ignore anything said during the campaign, it calls into question Carney’s authenticity on the stump.

During his press conference, he was asked about the need for new ethics and transparency laws in government.

Carney said he would distinguish between rules and conduct. “If there were specific proposals, obviously we would look at them. But what’s important is bringing that spirit of honesty, the highest integrity, and my track record is consistent with that, but also that commitment that goes with it to transparency,” he said.

The Liberal Party has a history of hubris and quickly becoming too comfortable in power.

Treating voters like the audience of a conjuring trick would be an inauspicious end to this campaign.

jivison@criffel.ca

Twitter.com/IvisonJ

• John Ivison: Carney’s luck is so good, even his scandals work in his favour
• Carney admits Trump talked about Canada becoming 51st state during call last month

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