Justin Trudeau is afraid to run on his record, his rivals charged Thursday 鈥� but with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer again fielding questions about abortion and the NDP鈥檚 Jagmeet Singh deep in Liberal territory in Ontario, all three found themselves wading through the muck of past political messes on Day 2 of the federal election campaign.
The Conservative, NDP and Green leaders largely spent the day hunkered down in preparation for the Maclean鈥檚/CITY TV debate, scheduled to take place later Thursday in Toronto, but Scheer and Singh both emerged briefly to pitch their priorities on taxes and health care.
Trudeau, under fire for opting to skip the first debate, said he鈥檒l stick to the official debates next month and a third in French hosted by TVA. And he suggested he鈥檇 prefer to be on the campaign trail in B.C. and Alberta anyway.
鈥淭he opportunity to get out across this country, speak with Canadians, listen to them, and talk about how we are going to build a better future for everyone and how we鈥檙e going to choose a better future for everyone is at the core of what this election is all about for me,鈥� he said in Victoria, where he announced an expansion of a program to help first-time homebuyers.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep doing that.鈥�
Scheer said he wasn鈥檛 surprised Trudeau would be a no-show, given the recent Globe and Mail reports that have thrust the SNC-Lavalin affair back into the headlines. But the Liberal leader is also gun-shy when it comes to talking about Canada鈥檚 place in the world, he added.
鈥淚 note that this evening, a part of the debate will be focused on foreign affairs,鈥� said Scheer, who was in Toronto to highlight a promised tax credit on maternity and paternity benefits.
鈥淎nd if there鈥檚 one area where Justin Trudeau鈥檚 failures have been so visible to Canadians, so evident that Canadians can immediately understand, it鈥檚 on the subject of foreign affairs.鈥�
Singh said he鈥檚 disappointed Trudeau has decided to skip the event, as Canadians expect him to show up and defend his record.
鈥淗is record is pretty abysmal but that doesn鈥檛 mean he should give up on the debate,鈥� he said after an event in Brampton, Ont.
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Singh launched his first federal campaign from the Brampton area in 2011, losing to a Conservative. In 2015, the area鈥檚 five ridings were all scooped up by the Liberals. On Thursday, he fielded questions 鈥� including one in Punjabi, which he speaks fluently 鈥� about why Liberal supporters should pivot his way this time around.
He promised to be a prime minister who responds directly to the area鈥檚 concerns, highlighted by his promise of the day: funds to build and expand hospitals to serve the booming population of the area.
The Greens were dealing with their own candidate issues, moving swiftly to remove a candidate in an Ontario riding. A social media post had shown Erik Schomann helping roast a pig, with the caption suggesting the leftovers would be mailed to Muslims. Members of white supremacist groups often suggest mailing pigs as a way to threaten Muslims. Pork is forbidden in Islam.
While Green party Leader Elizabeth May was set to participate in Thursday night鈥檚 debate, People鈥檚 Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier was excluded from the lineup.
He took his campaign to his home riding of Beauce, in Quebec, the lone seat his party currently holds. He said it was funny that the satirical Rhinoceros Party has found someone with the same name to run against him in his hometown, but feels voters are smart enough to make the right choice.
Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
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