[Voice of Justin Trudeau] The next election is about the kind of country we want to live in.
And who we want to be as Canadians.
[Voice of Rosemary Barton] Justin Trudeau may arguably be
the most experienced campaigner of this election
but he is also about to do something he has never done before.
Run as a prime minister on a record of his own government
asking to continue the work with another mandate.
[Trudeau] In October we've got a choice to make.
I'm for moving forward.
[Barton] But moving ahead also means looking back at what has and has not been done.
Liberals will happily talk more about giving more money to Canadian families with a bigger child tax credit.
Concluding trade deals including NAFTA.
Keeping the economy growing,.
Progressing on the path to reconciliation.
And fighting climate change with a carbon tax across the country.
But there have been mistakes too, that are opportunities for Trudeau's opponents.
An ill-fated trip to India that was roundly mocked
and proved perhaps more trouble than it was worth.
A vacation to the Aga Khan's private island which contravened the Ethics Act.
[Barton] At no point you didn't say to yourself, this is not maybe the best thing to do?
You never thought that?
[Trudeau] The Aga Khan is someone who has been a longtime friend of my family's.
[Voice of Rosemary Barton] Electoral promises have been broken.
Democratic reform abandoned.
The promise of balanced budgets left behind.
[Trudeau] The trust that previously existed between these two individuals
and our team has been broken.
[Barton[ To say nothing of the SNC Lavlin controversy
which cost the prime minister two cabinet ministers
and one of his most trusted advisers
did much damage in public opinion polls
and again concluded with the ethics commissioner saying Trudeau had broken the rules
by trying to pressure his former justice minister.
[Trudeau] The choice is very clear right now
between going back to the cuts and austerity of the Harper years
or continuing to move forward.
[Barton] Campaigning is something Trudeau thrives on.
And opponents have seen how underestimating him is a mistake.
And the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada with 51% of the vote.
Andrew Scheer.
[Cheers]
[Barton] Andrew Scheer has now been leader of the Conservative Party since 2017.
Beating out more than a dozen others to replace Stephen Harper.
[Scheer] Canadians cannot afford four more years of Justin Trudeau .
[Barton] But quickly he was painted as Harper with a smile.
[Serapio] You're either described as the smiling Stephen Harper or Stephen Harper with a smile.
What's your take on that description?
[Scheer] Well, I think that's a fairly accurate description.
[Barton] Scheer has never faced a national federal campaign as leader before.
But he's been a politician since the age of 25.
Much of that time was spent in the more neutral role of Speaker of the House of Commons.
The youngest ever named.
[Scheer] This is what is disgusting about this.
They are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country
to cover-up their corruption scandal!
[Barton] Scheer quickly embraced his role as leader of the official opposition
pushing the prime minister to defend his government's record.
But at times, the effort to look tough has seemed uncomfortable and forced.
Scheer is far from a household name.
That will be one of his biggest challenges.
But his policies will be familiar to conservatives.
Dump the carbon tax and give money back to Canadians to spend as they see fit.
[Scheer] My plan for Canadians?
Lower the cost of living and leave more money in your pockets.
[Barton] Scheer has his own challenges.
Having supported socially conservative positions
particularly against same-sex marriage that he is now struggling to defend.
[Scheer] My personal views are that every single Canadian has the same quality rights under the law
and I will continue to uphold that.
[Barton It may be his first campaign
but conservatives say he's been preparing for months and is ready.
[Voice of Jagmeet Singh] As your new leader --
[Cheers]
[Chanting] Jagmeet! Jagmeet!
[Barton] Jagmeet Singh is new to politics.
At least at the national level.
A member of the Ontario legislature since 2011,
Singh decided to take the plunge into federal politics in 2017
after Tom Mulcair was pushed out of the NDP.
The jump was a big one and Singh faced some criticism even from inside his own party
for not running for a seat for almost a full year.
[Reporter] Can you tell us whether or not your caucus is behind you in supporting this?
At this point, just give me a moment I just need to clarify.
[Barton] Singh struggled to get a handle on federal politics and the NDP's positions
He has since pushed party policies like universal pharmacare and affordable housing.
[Singh] Imagine instead a government in Ottawa that actually works for you.
Singh has other challenges too.
The NDP hasn't raised as much money as it needs for this campaign.
And has yet to name about half of the candidates across the country.
[Singh] We're out sharing our message, connecting with people.
[Barton] This election could be make or break for Singh
but it may also be a defining moment for the NDP and its future.
[Voice of Elizabeth May] I love telling people all the reasons why even one Green elected to a parliament
or legislature can make a really big difference.
[Barton] This is hardly Elizabeth May's first campaign
but it may be the first one where a real breakthrough is possible.
She still holds the title of the first Green Party seat claimed federally in 2011.
There was some more success for the party when they managed to add a seat
with Paul Manly's by-election win earlier this year.
But in many ways it is the success of the Greens at the provincial level
that has given me a newfound hope and momentum.
The party now has seats in B.C., P.E.I, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Some 15 elected legislators.
[May] So we are facing a larger threat than a human species has ever been faced with before.
[Barton] May has said fighting climate change requires a much more urgent response.
And so she is proposing to double Canada's current greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Climate change may be of critical importance to many voters
but May will have to defend her ambitious plan like never before.
For with more interest comes more scrutiny.
[Voice of Maxime Bernier] One year ago, I decided to offer Canadians a new vision of our country.
[Barton] Maxine Bernier left the Conservative Party last August
bitterly railing against the party that had made him a cabinet minister
in Stephen Harper's government.
And that he had tried to lead and failed.
[Bernier] This party is too intellectually and morally correct to be reformed.
[Barton] He rather quickly struck out on his own and established the People's Party of Canada.
Bernier describes it as a coalition of people fed up with the traditional parties
and in favor of what he dubs smart populism.
But he says he believes in climate change but denies it is man-made
and he'll do nothing to tackle it.
Wants to drastically cut taxes and slash immigration levels in Canada.
[Bernire] We need to have fewer immigrants but we need to be sure that these people
would be able to integrate our society, to be part of our society.
[Barton] That sentiment in particular has been viewed as anti-immigrant.
And while Bernier has tapped into some disaffected voters,
he has also attracted Neo-Nazis.
Though he has said they are not welcome in his party.
Bernier may be fielding a full slate of candidates and making a real play in this election.
But if he cannot shake off those criticisms and grow his support
he may find himself a leader with no party behind him.
And will there be a resurgence from the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois?
Yves-François Blanchet is the fifth leader of the bloc since 2011.
The beleaguered party hasn't held official party status in parliament for the last eight years.
The erosion of the sovereignty movement will continue to be a challenge this election.
Each of the leaders and their strengths and weaknesses will soon be tested.
And on October 21st, Canadians will decide just who deserves electoral success.
okay Rosie and of course I mean
bearing in mind we are seven weeks out the best sense we have right now of how
all the shakes out is from the polls that's right it can at least give us a
sense right and CBC's poll tracker is up and running our polls analyst Eric
Grenier is gonna update it daily or even more than daily if needed so here's what
his numbers show us right now Andrew the Conservatives have led in the poll since
February that's when the SNC level s story broke but the leader of the
Liberals has narrowed over the course of the summer the two parties really in a
virtual tie right now let me show you what Eric has found in terms of
projections four seats each party can win as you can see there as well
the Liberals favored to win the most seats but whether any party can actually
win a majority is still very much a toss-up yeah no doubt and Rosa do you
get to get any sleep over the next few weeks it's gonna be busy no I don't
think sleep is on the agenda but that's fine seven weeks until voting day and
until then we'll have you covered here on the National okay good stuff