CANADA: Party Leaders Gear Up For Second Election Debate @ 1900ET

Following the French-language leaders' debate on 16 April, the leaders of Canada's four largest parties hold the second, English-language debate this evening ahead of the 28 April federal election. Tonight's debate will start at 1900ET (0000BST, 0800JST). Last night's debate focused on the emerging trade war between Canada and the US, and which candidate is best placed to face down US President Donald Trump. 

• Pierre Poilievre, leader of the main opposition centre-right Conservatives, sought to portray PM Mark Carney as a facsimile of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, claiming that Carney and his centre-left Liberals will offer 'more of the same'. Under the former PM, the Liberals trailed the Conservatives by +20%, but the emergent trade war, Trump's aggressive rhetoric, and the departure of the increasingly unpopular Trudeau, have seen a massive shift in the polls, with the Liberals now strong favourites to win an outright majority.
• Carney said on the focus of the election, “The question is who’s going to succeed in facing Donald Trump,”. Poilievre: “I will never compromise Canada’s interests, and I will control what we can here. We can’t control the decisions of Trump, but we can control our domestic economy and overturn Liberal policies that weakened our economy and made us more dependent on the US”.
• The environmentalist Greens will remain unrepresented after their co-leader was removed from both debates with the party having failed to hit two out of three thresholds for a position on the stage.