Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 30, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025 VOL 154 NO 142 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2025 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B5 Classifieds D7 Comics C5 Diversions C6,7 Horoscope C4 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries D7 Opinion A6,7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather B8 COLUMNISTS: Tom Brodbeck A4 Pam Frampton A7 Gwynne Dyer A7 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada After an election fought largely over which leader could best handle Trump and his threats against Canada’s econ- omy and sovereignty, Trump’s admin- istration weighed in Tuesday to bring those concerns back to the forefront. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the Canadian election “does not affect President Trump’s plan to make Canada America’s cherished 51st state.” Carney and Trump have agreed to meet in person in the near future, the Prime Minister’s Office said. It added that the two agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together — as inde- pendent, sovereign nations — for their mutual betterment. Carney held his first phone call with Trump during the first week of the election campaign. The two agreed then that they would immediately launch discussions on a new trade and security pact following the election. Poilievre said during his conces- sion speech that he would stay on as Conservative leader despite his party’s loss. He hushed some booing from the crowd when he congratulated Carney on his win. “No, no, we’ll have plenty of oppor- tunity to debate and disagree. But to- night we come together as Canadians,” Poilievre said. “We have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time.” Poilievre’s loss in Carleton after holding the riding for 21 years leaves him on the outside of the next Par- liament. The seat flipped following a concerted push by the Liberal party and Fanjoy to get out the vote in the Ottawa-area riding. French President Emmanuel Macron said in a social media post on Tuesday that he spoke by phone with Carney to congratulate him and that they discussed joint projects between France and Canada, as well as challenges ahead of the coming G7 meetings in June. Former Conservative prime min- ister Stephen Harper congratulated Carney and wished the next govern- ment “success as they navigate our country forward during these chal- lenging times.” “I also want to congratulate Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada on making significant gains, both in seats and popular vote, and bringing an entire new genera- tion of Canadians to the Conservative Party,” he said. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who became a divisive figure for the Conservatives during the campaign, also congratulated Carney and said he was ready to work with the new government. He encouraged the prime minister to help accelerate natural re- source development and other projects in the province. Premier Scott Moe in Saskatchewan and Premier Danielle Smith in Alberta also congratulated Carney, even as they expressed dissatisfaction with the election results. “A large majority of Albertans are deeply frustrated that the same government that overtly attacked our provincial economy almost unabated for the past 10 years has been re- turned to government,” Smith said in a media statement. “As premier, I will not permit the status quo to continue,” she said, adding that Albertans would have the “opportunity to discuss the province’s future” in the weeks to come. Moe said voters in Saskatchewan, who elected only one Liberal MP, “sent a strong message by voting for change.” British Columbia Premier David Eby urged Carney to call the premiers together to get rid of trade barriers within Canada. “It should be as easy for us to do business with Ontarians as it cur- rently is to do business with people in Washington State,” he told reporters. “And so that’s a critical priority.” Eby said it is also crucial to support industries affected by Trump’s global trade war. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves- François Blanchet said Tuesday he plans to speak with the other party leaders about “what we have in com- mon.” The last thing the people of Quebec want “is instability in the federal Par- liament,” he said at a press conference in Montreal. Blanchet indicated any talk of Que- bec sovereignty must take a back seat to dealing with the threat of Trump’s tariffs through trade negotiations. “I am absolutely certain that we must first in the federal Parliament deal with the negotiation,” he said. The Bloc Québécois is projected to lose 11 of the seats it held before the election but is set to retain its status as the third-largest party in the House of Commons. Blanchet, who noted the NDP also lost seats, cautioned New Democrats against propping up a Liberal minority as they did in the last Parliament. “I’m not sure, if I were them, that I would try that another time,” he said. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lost his Vancouver-area seat and announced he would be resigning as party leader once New Democrats select an interim replacement. “We may lose sometimes and those losses hurt,” Singh said, fighting emotion as he stood beside his wife on a stage in Burnaby, B.C., after the results were in. “We’re only defeated when we believe … those that tell us that we can never dream of a better Canada, a fairer Canada, a more compassionate Canada.” At least a dozen New Democrat MPs lost their seats and preliminary results show it may be difficult for the NDP to maintain official party status, which gives a party access to research funding and more opportunities to make queries during question period. — with files from Jim Bronskill in Ottawa and Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington — The Canadian Press CARNEY ● FROM A1 JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council, the morning after the Liberal Party won the Canadian federal election, in Ottawa on Tuesday. LIBERAL 169 CONSERVATIVE 144 BLOC 22 NDP 7 GREEN 1 Conservative leader loses his long-held seat in Ottawa O TTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will not have a seat in the next Parliament after a stunning upset by his Liberal oppon- ent, raising questions about his ability to continue as party leader and the role he will play when the House of Com- mons reconvenes. It also raises questions about where he will live. After serving as MP for more than 20 years, Poilievre lost to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy in the riding of Carleton. In his concession speech on election night, Poilievre pledged that Conserv- atives will “do our constitutional duty of holding government to account and proposing better alternatives.” But the duty of leading the official Opposition in Parliament rests with a sitting MP. Lyle Skinner, a constitutional lawyer who specializes in parliamentary law, said the role is not explicitly defined in Canadian law but it is “hard-coded” into our system of responsible govern- ment, where the government has to defend its record through questions posed by the Opposition leader. “If you don’t have a seat in the House of Commons, that constitutional func- tion (of Opposition leader) is delinked and it breaks down,” he said. When Mark Carney became Liberal leader in March, he was named prime minister despite the fact that he did not have a seat in the House — a very dif- ferent situation. “The office of the prime minister is actually an office of the Crown, and so it’s appointed by the governor general,” Skinner said. Poilievre and the Conservatives will need to name an MP to lead the party in the House of Commons when Parlia- ment resumes, likely in late May. Being Opposition leader comes with several perks, including Stornoway, the eight-bedroom official residence where Poilievre has lived since he took over the Conservative leadership. Accord- ing to the Official Residences Act, that home is designated for the use of the leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. Skinner said there’s some flexibility and the person who takes over the role of Opposition leader in the House could choose not to move into Stornoway. But he said it’s not clear in law how long such a situation could go on. By losing his seat, Poilievre also loses his salary as a member of Par- liament, which would be $209,800 this year, along with the $99,900 top-up af- forded to the Opposition leader. Fanjoy won in Carleton by a margin of 4,315 votes in Monday’s election. The political rookie tirelessly knocked on doors in his bid to unseat Poilievre, saying the riding deserved better. In an interview with The Canadian Press before the election, Fanjoy said he felt confident he had a shot against Poilievre. “I’m not sure whether he doesn’t understand that he’s in a race here for his seat, or if he’s just trying to pretend that it’s not happening,” he said at the time. Poilievre was first elected in 2004 and has won in the suburban Ottawa riding six subsequent times over the last 21 years. He took the Conservative party reins in 2022, winning the leadership by a wide margin on the first ballot. He has a reputation for being a very effective Opposition leader, with a penchant for pointed attacks in question period. He has also proven to be a divisive figure. Polls consistently showed he had negative personal approval rat- ings, particularly among women. Sharon DeSousa, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said she’s not surprised by Fanjoy’s victory. Carleton is home to a large number of public servants and Poilievre ran on a pledge to make deep cuts to govern- ment bureaucracy. “They took a stance that they’re go- ing to cut more than 17,000 federal public sector jobs per year,” she said, adding the figure seemed “made up.” DeSousa said she felt Poilievre was “disconnected from his own constitu- ency.” Another factor in Fanjoy’s win was the support of NDP voters. In 2021, the NDP candidate got 8,164 votes. This year, the New Democrat candidate got 1,222 votes. That mirrors the election results overall, which saw the NDP lose of- ficial party status and drop to seven seats across the country after a large number of its supporters turned to the Liberals. Poilievre can remain as Conserva- tive leader even if he is not the leader of the Opposition, though that decision will rest with the Conservative party. He could seek a different seat in a byelection if one should become va- cant. Even if a seat opens up, it could be months until a byelection is actually held. The government has up to 180 days, or six months, after a seat is va- cated to call a byelection, and the vote must be held within 50 days of that. In his concession speech early Tues- day morning, Poilievre congratulated Prime Minister Mark Carney on form- ing government and indicated he would continue as Conservative leader. “It will be an honour to continue to fight for you and to be a champion of your cause,” he told a crowd of support- ers at a downtown Ottawa convention centre. He spoke several hours before the votes were fully counted in his own riding, but he trailed all night. The Conservative party has not re- sponded to a request for comment on the results in Carleton. Poilievre did not speak to reporters on Tuesday. Former party leader and re-elected MP Andrew Scheer tweeted his sup- port for Poilievre to stay on as leader, citing the party’s gains in popular vote and seat count. The Tories won 144 seats and just over 41 per cent of the popular vote, according to Elections Canada results on Tuesday afternoon. The last time a conservative party had that high of a percentage was in 1988. The mod- ern Conservative party was formed in 2003. “His inspirational leadership has brought more people into the Conserv- ative movement,” Scheer said in a so- cial media post Tuesday afternoon. “His continued leadership will en- sure we finish the job next time.” — The Canadian Press SARAH RITCHIE CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks on election night in Ottawa. ;