Carney spent final weekend campaign in push for local candidates

May 1, 2025 · 0 Comments

It was little over 48 hours before Canadians went to the polls, but as Liberal leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney made the rounds in Aurora’s two ridings on Saturday morning, he was using a different unit of measurement.

“I’m going to use my hockey analogy: we’re down to two minutes in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup,” he told Liberal supporters at Aurora’s Royal Rose Gallery on April 26. “Please leave everything on the ice: a few more door-knocks, a few more phone calls, a few more conversations. We want everyone possible to support us regardless of which party they supported in the past. The country is coming together.”

Carney’s appearance at the Royal Rose Gallery alongside Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill candidate Leah Taylor Roy was his second stop of the day in Aurora’s two ridings.

Starting the day with an event at Seneca College in King Township, Carney was soon in Newmarket-Aurora where he toured a Main Street business with candidate Jennifer McLachlan before heading south to Aurora’s historic downtown core.

“You are the right person at the right time, Prime Minister Carney, and I really thank you for coming to this neck of the woods,” said Taylor Roy, greeting the leader. “We are fighting hard to keep this riding ‘red,’ and with your leadership, we can do it.”

In response, Carney underscored the importance of Monday’s election.

“If I recall correctly, there’s a quote from Picasso that [Royal Rose] Gallery uses, which is, ‘Art helps us shake the dust off our souls,’ and that’s what this election is about,” he said. “I am thrilled to be here. This is the most crucial election of our lifetimes…and I am thrilled to be here with Leah because she represents what’s at stake.”

What’s at stake, he said, was “the threat from Donald Trump, how we can build Canada Strong” and “how we can fight back.”

Taylor Roy’s business background, he said, represented a “long, successful” career in Canada, “but Leah’s much more than that – and that’s the point.”

“Why do we care about a strong economy? Why do we care about winning this trade war? We care about it because we care about people. We care about a career in the not-for-profit sector Leah has had. We care about the vulnerable in our society… we care about equality in our society in all its respects – reconciliation, the equality of men and women,” he said, citing Taylor Roy’s work in Ottawa, including chairing the Liberal Women’s Caucus. “We’re bringing together all those aspects; that’s what we’re fighting for in this election: yes, the strongest economy; yes, winning the trade war, but bringing us together for the benefit of everyone in Canada – young, old, new Canadian, First Nations, Indigenous Canadians.

“We can win this election with your help.”

By Brock Weir