The Liberal Party has launched a new national advertising campaign over the holidays, focused on the “dangerous cuts” that it says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would make if he becomes prime minister.
The advertising campaign comes after a tumultuous week that saw Deputy Prime Minister
Chrystia Freeland resign ahead of the presentation of the Fall Economic Statement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced growing calls to step down, including from every major party leader and several MPs within his own caucus.
Liberal Party President Sachit Mehra said in a Dec. 22 press release that the new television and online ad campaign, the first from the upcoming 2025 general election, is focused on the “anxieties and pressures that Canadians will face from Poilievre’s plan to cut vital services and investments.”
The English and French ads began playing online on Dec. 23 and will play on television beginning Dec. 26.
One of the advertisements, titled
“The Price,” showcases a family gathering for Christmas dinner but voicing their anxieties over Conservative cuts to Liberal programs. “As a parent, you never stop worrying. I heard that Pierre Poilievre voted against $10-a-day child care. It keeps our family going. Does he just not get it?” a woman asks.
Other members of the family voice worries about the Conservatives voting against more money for health care and dental care, as well as more support for first-time homebuyers. Another worry in the ad alluded to Poilievre potentially cutting pensions for seniors.
Another
ad states that the Liberals are “making life more affordable for you” through the two-month
GST holiday on items like groceries, restaurant meals, certain alcoholic beverages, children’s toys and clothing, and Christmas trees.
“Pierre Poilievre wants to cut the Liberal tax break and leave Canadians out in the cold. This isn’t just a fight for more money in your pocket. It’s a fight for your future,” the ad says.
Poilievre has been non-committal on whether he would keep the Liberals’ child care and dental care programs if he becomes prime minister. The Conservatives criticized
Ottawa’s dental plan as “riddled with chaos, backlogs, red tape, and higher costs“ in August, and talked about achieving more ”flexibility” for the child care program.
The Conservatives have also criticized the Liberals GST tax holiday,
saying it would “do nothing to make life more affordable for working Canadians.” The Tories voted against the measure, and said the Liberal government should not increase its carbon tax in April 2025 as a way to help Canadians struggling with affordability.
Poilievre has vowed to “fix the budget” when he becomes prime minister, saying the Liberal government has been spending too much on programs that do little to help Canadians. Poilievre told reporters during a Dec. 20 press conference he was concerned about the next generation of Canadians who would inherit the country’s $1.2 trillion debt, adding that more debt was added in the “last nine years of this NDP-Liberal government” than in all prior governments combined.
The Liberals have been trailing behind the Conservatives in the polls for more than a year, with the
latest Abacus Survey showing only 20 percent of
Canadians support the Liberals compared to 45 percent for the Tories, and 18 percent for the NDP.
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