Party leaders talk trades on the campaign trail today

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The federal party leaders hit the campaign trail today immediately following last night’s debate in Toronto. The day after the debate on foreign policy, trade was a hot topic, particularly the 12 country trans-pacific partnership.

Stephen Harper was at a new home development site in Vaughan today with Conservative candidate Julian Fantino. He says previous tax breaks and new promises will help create 700 000 new homeowners by 2020 and that the Conservative government’s low-tax, balanced-budget plan will ensure that home ownership is within reach for even more Canadians. Harper also addressed concerns that the trans-pacific partnership agreement might hurt Canada’s auto industry.

At a campaign event in Winnipeg Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said there should be more transparency when it comes to trade negotiations. He expressed uncertainty around many elements of the trans-pacific trade deal, including provisions that would affect cultural industries and health care. His focus today was promising to pump $200 million for 3 years into research and development.

Canada’s dairy industry has also been discussed during the TTP negotiations. Today dairy farmers staged a protest on Parliament Hill. Tractors clogged the street in front of the Parliament buildings while some farmers walked their cows through the downtown core and others dumped milk on the pavement. Farmers in Ontario and Quebec are concerned that the trade deal could spell the end of the supply management system that keeps their operations profitable.

The trade deal came up during last nights leaders’ debate. NDP leader Tom Mulcair said he didn’t trust the Conservatives to protect the dairy industry. Mulcair travelled to Iqaluit today to announce an NDP plan to spend an additional $32 million over 4 years to ensure northerners have access to affordable, healthy food.