Advance voting continues as Poilievre accuses Carney of 'printing money'

Canadians continued to head to advance polls Sunday as the main federal party leaders campaigned in B.C. and the country's capital.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre kicked the day off at a grocery store in Surrey, B.C., with another announcement on inflation.

Arguing that a reduction in government spending would ease inflation, Poilievre said a Conservative government would cut Ottawa's annual budget for consultants by $10 billion.

"Inflation is what happens when governments spend money they don't have, so they just print the cash. More money bidding on a fixed supply of goods equals higher prices for everything," he said.

Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that the annual rate of inflation cooled slightly to 2.3 per cent nationally in March, while food prices increased 3.2 per cent year over year.

WATCH | Poilievre says he would cut federal consultant fees by $10B:

Blaming the Liberal government for ballooning consultant costs, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking from Surrey, B.C., on Sunday, said his government would roll those expenses back to Harper-era levels.

Poilievre also railed against the Liberals' campaign platform, unveiled Saturday, which proposes $129 billion in new measures over the next four years on top of existing commitments.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney pitched his platform as an investment in making Canada more self-reliant in response to the trade war with the United States.

On Sunday, Poilievre accused Carney of "printing money" during his time as governor of the Bank of England, and blamed him for that country's recent bout of high inflation.

Carney led the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020 and was responsible for little of that country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation surged in both Canada and the United Kingdom in the pandemic recovery period and peaked in both nations in 2022.

WATCH | Poilievre doesn't say if he'd end freeze on handgun purchases:

Speaking in Surrey B.C., heading into the last week of the campaign, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dodged a reporter's question about whether he would repeal the freeze on handgun sales in Canada introduced by the Liberal government — instead saying the problem is illegal handguns crossing into Canada.

Poilievre did not directly answer Sunday when asked whether he would maintain the national freeze on purchasing or transferring handguns, introduced by the Liberal government in 2022.

He claimed handguns on Canadian streets are largely brought in from the United States and said he would crack down on firearm traffickers to address handgun violence.

Owning a registered handgun purchased before the freeze remains legal in Canada, while such guns can be transferred legally only among certain exempted businesses and individuals.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh campaigned in Victoria, B.C., on Sunday and told voters they "shouldn't put all your power in one party" when voting this election. Carney is scheduled for an afternoon event in Ottawa.

WATCH | Singh tells voters not to put all their eggs in one basket this election:

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, while speaking in Victoria, B.C., Sunday, used a metaphor and the Easter long weekend to say just as you shouldn't put all of your eggs in one basket, you 'shouldn't put all your power in one party' when voting in this election.

The NDP unveiled its costed campaign pledges Saturday, while the Conservatives said their platform is coming soon.

Sunday was the second-to-last day of advance polls, which got off to a record-setting start on Friday.

Elections Canada said nearly two million people turned out to cast a ballot on the first day of advance voting, leading to long lineups at some polling stations.

A spokesperson for the independent agency said polls remained "very busy" on Saturday and workers were making adjustments to reduce lineups.