Image source, Reuters

On Ukraine, Poilievre says it is important for Canada to take a different tack than the United States: "We don't need to follow Americans on everything," he says.

As the US signals retreat from Europe, he says he agrees with continued support for Ukraine.

Carney also says he supports Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion and touts his record of joining European allies as part of the so-called "coalition of the willing" which seeks to guarantee funding for Kyiv.

Singh also says he supports continued help for Ukraine, but uses his time focus on healthcare, as he says the Canadian system is facing the problem of increasing "privatisation and Americanisation".

Yves-Francois Blanchet says he Canada "must help Ukraine, we must help the civilians of Gaza, and we must destroy Hamas - which is a terrorist organisation".

He says he doesn't want to be prime minister, but wants to be a responsible and collaborative partner with the eventual leader of the Canadian government.

Jagmeet Singh is asked about healthcare, which is his party's biggest issue. He says Canada is in a "healthcare crisis", outlining long waiting times for emergencies and seniors.

He says more privatisation is hurting the public healthcare system.

Image source, Reuters

Blanchet takes the floor. He says he will speak for a little bit, as he is owed time from Carney.

He will support any initiative which will bring Canada aligned with Europe and Nato, to make the country stronger.

Canada's main ally is removing itself from the stage, so Canada has to step up, he says, referring to the United States.

He asks Carney if he will accept dealing with people who are "more experienced than you are" if there is no majority government.

Blanchet proposes they all meet one week after the election no matter the result to deal with the crisis.

Carney says he "looks forward to meeting" with everyone, even inviting moderator Paikin.

"That's not very respectful," Blanchet says.

Ultimately in a crisis, you need a team, therefore they will work as a group, Carney says.

Carney, Poilievre pressed on clean energy 'fairy tale'published at 01:28 British Summer Time 18 April

01:28 BST 18 April

Jessica Murphy
Reporting from Montreal

Both Carney and Poilievre were pressed on their plans to protect the climate.

Blanchet accused both of selling a "fairy tale" idea of clean oil and gas development.

Carney responds that the idea of clean oil as a fairy tale might once have been the case, but "Canadian ingenuity" has made it a reality, pointing to carbon capture as an example.

The Liberal leader, in his previous roles, has long pushed for climate action.

But he's faced criticism for quickly cancelling the unpopular consumer carbon tax in Canada when he came to power, and for talking about the need to develop Canada's energy resources in the face the US tariff threats - his response to those questions on the campaign trail is he is a "pragmatist".

We are now on the section about leading in a crisis.

Carney is asked how he will get the country to a balanced budget.

Carney says in a crisis you plan for the worst. This would be that the US does want to take over Canada, he says.

They need to respond with overwhelming force in a crisis, he says.

They will slow the rate of spending and focus on a small amount of capital pending by the federal government.

Poilievre is asked if Canada should commit more to Ukraine if the US withholds funds.

He says they should continue to support Ukraine but also rebuild Canada's military too, which has his "full backing".

Image source, Reuters

Poilievre says Conservatives support protecting the environment, but they can't do this by raising taxes and sending jobs overseas.

This has been the Liberal government's approach, he says.

Carney is given the last word in this segment.

As he begins speaking, Singh and Blanchet try to interrupt. Let him finish his point, Paikin tells the politicians.

Carney says there is opportunity, and the country could be a clean energy superpower. He will deliver this, he adds.

Pierre Poilievre reiterates his plan to bring energy production home to Canada, saying he will give tax credits to "low emitting Canadian industry" to low-emitting producers.

Carney responds to the attacks against the Liberals, saying the oil and gas industry need to lower carbon emissions. He says Canada needs to move forward with carbon capture technology to make it viable going forward.

The Liberal leader now attacks Poilievre, saying there is an "entire absence of a carbon plan" from the Conservatives.

Poilievre counters by asking how much an industrial carbon tax would raise the price of a car - and says Carney doesn't know the answer.

Singh interjects, telling Poilievre "you don't know the answer either".

Image source, Reuters

Blanchet gets the first shot in the next open debate section. The question is about critical minerals, which are in high demand. He is asked if he is in favour of these being mined.

"Of course," he says.

Quebec has the "most important phosphate reserves in North America", he says. It has to be exploited, he adds.

No money has been spent in Quebec to develop power and wealth in the region, he adds.

Carney says there is enormous opportunity across Canada in critical metals.

They need to make a decision on how to develop it and who the partners will be for it. He cites Trump, who this week said he would put a tax on critical minerals.

There is an opportunity to work with Europe and Asia.

Singh says he finds it troubling that the Liberal has spent the most subsidies on oil and gas in the G7.

Blanchet interrupts: "You voted for it."

Carney is asked by Singh if he can commit to ending oil and gas subsidies.

During the first portion on energy and climate, as Paikin asks Jagmeet Singh whether Canada should build more pipelines to get its energy to the international market.

Singh says he does not favour pipelines, and would rather build an east-west energy grid to connect Canadians with low-cost energy options. He talks about how the climate crisis is increasingly a threat, citing forest fires, heat domes and floods.

Pierre Poilievre says his plan is to bring home jobs while bringing down emissions around the world. He says Canada cannot push production abroad to more polluting countries which is making the problem "worse".

If Canada sent its gas to India, for example, "we could reduce emissions by 2.5bn tonnes - which is three times the total emissions of Canada".

Image source, Reuters

Circling back onto the topic of energy and the environment, Carney says that Indigenous people needed to be consulted on issues such as pipelines and new mining and included from the start of projects in order to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that requires consent from Indigenous communities.

Blanchet however says he opposes new pipelines - while moderator Paikin points out that new polling suggests most of Quebecers support them.

Ali Abbas Ahmadi
Reporting from Toronto

Image source, BBC / Thomas Stenlake

First-time Canadian voter Thomas Stenlake from Hamilton, Ontario, has been watching tonight's debate and is sharing his reaction with us.

So far, the standout has been the unity on stage against foreign attacks, Stenlake says, as all the leaders support "a strong Canada against outside influence".

He says Mark Carney has done well to counter attacks from the other party leaders and "present some of his his policies clearly".

Poilievre on the other hand is sticking to previously laid out policies but "can't help falling back on a slogan", while NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is "scrambling" to attack both the Conservatives and the Liberals.

Stenlake adds that he is disappointed that the Green Party are not at the debate.

As a reminder, the Greens were disinvited by the Leaders' Debates Commission for not fielding enough candidates across the country.

We're halfway through - how are these leaders holding up?published at 01:04 British Summer Time 18 April

01:04 BST 18 April

Jessica Murphy
Reporting from Montreal

At this halfway point, there are have been no clear knock-out punches - but Mark Carney is taking a lot of blows over the Liberal record.

Carney has been looking to lay out his policy, but keeps getting pulled into distancing himself from the party's last 10 years in power.

Both Conservative Pierre Poilievre and the Bloc's Yves Francois Blanchet are also taking jabs at Carney's own short record as PM - he was sworn in after winning the Liberal leadership race in March.

And while Poilievre and Carney are auditioning to be PM, the NDP's Jagmeet Singh and Blanchet are both there to make the case they need to be a check on any governing party.

"You can't entrust all the power to Mr Carney," the NDP leader said earlier.

Until recently, the NDP supported the minority Trudeau Liberals in parliament in exchange for passing policies backed by the left-leaning party, like a national pharmacare plan.

Carney says there are people in Canada who fear going to their synagogue, their community centre or taking their kids to school due to public safety concerns.

The Liberal Party wants to make it a criminal offence to threaten or impede anyone from being near or going to their school or community centre, for example, he says.

He wants to make people feel safer.

Each leader is then given 10 seconds to say what they perceive as the biggest security threat to Canada.

It's the rampant crime wave, Poilievre says.

Carney simply says it's China.

Illegal guns and drugs coming across the border, Singh argues.

Blanchet says it's that Canada and Quebec cannot protect itself and depends on the United States for this.

This segment is now over.

On Canada's opioid epidemic, Singh says: "We need to respond to this serious crisis in our country with care and compassion."

He recalled a meeting with the mothers of people who have died of overdoses. "We need to listen" to them, he says, even as the community around them also wants to feel safe.

Image source, Reuters

Carney says he disagrees with Poilievre about the Notwithstanding Clause.

Carney says they must defend the rights and liberties of Canadians.

It's dangerous to override judgements of the Supreme Court of Canada, he says. He says rights and freedoms exist to protect Canadians from politicians who may use their power to override fundamental rights.

The issue is not where you start, but where you would stop, he adds.

Blanchet says Carney believes they should never use the Not Withstanding Clause, but he argues the rule is very important.

Singh attacks Poilievre's claim that people on the stage thinks people committing violent crime should get less severe sentences.

His focus is to keep communities safe, Singh says, and says he plans to stop illegal weapons getting into the country by toughening up the border.

Poilievre defends himself. They would use the clause to "protect the charter rights of law abiding Canadians".

He is interested in the rights of victims and goes on to attack the Liberal Party, pointing to increased crime in Toronto.

Poilievre outlines some of his anti-crime policies.

He is proposing increasing sentences for violent criminals such as murderers through the use of the so-called Notwithstanding Clause to impose consecutive life sentences on violent criminals.

The Notwithstanding Clause would allow a prime minister to override the rulings of judges.

The clause allows a government to have a law operate in spite of a right found in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is essentially an opt-out option that can be used for a five-year period.

No prime minister has ever used the clause, according to the CBC.

In this section on public safety, Poilievre says he is concerned that Indigenous people are disproportionately the victims of crimes.

He attacks the Liberals, saying they are "soft on crime" and allow convicted criminals back onto the streets.

He says the Conservatives will send convicted offenders to jail for at least 10 years if they commit three serious crimes with no chance of parole or bail.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says the RCMP - or Royal Canadian Mounted Police - needs to be reformed, and talks about concerns in northern and rural communities that the police have been using force inappropriately in executing their duties.

Does Carney represent one month as PM or one decade of Liberal rule?published at 00:47 British Summer Time 18 April

00:47 BST 18 April

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Two calendars are running in tonight’s debate.

Carney keeps referring to what he has done in his one month as prime minister.

His political rivals keep flipping the pages back a decade to the start of Liberal Party rule under Justin Trudeau.

"They're both gone!" he declared, referring to Trudeau’s departure along with his unpopular carbon tax.

"We need a change" is Poilievre's mantra. He keeps accusing Carney of just repeating broken Liberal party promises, such as doubling the pace of house building.

And Blanchet threw down the gauntlet to Carney. "You claim you are different - you need to prove you are better."

And Singh keeps bringing it back to lives of Canadians, which he underlines are far harder after the last decade of Liberal rule.

This segment has now ended. Moderator Steve Paikin interrupted Blanchet, and says "we've gotta move on".

We are now moving onto the topic of public safety and security.

Blanchet is asked how he would end the fentanyl crisis in the country.

He calls it a serious issue, and cites immigration and borders issues as well. In Quebec, he says these are especially a problem.

They are getting more people than they can afford, Blanchet ends.

Carney is asked about a gun buy-back policy that he wants to revive. This involves buying banned guns back from people.

There is a problem with guns coming across the borders, and they have banned assault rifles which are a huge issue.

He calls out opponent Poilievre's voting record, citing that he has voted against gun control every time it has come up.

Poilievre attacks Carney's closeness to the previous Trudeau government. He says Trudeau staffers are at the debate helping to prep Carney for the evening.

Carney, seeking to distance himself from the former prime minister, responds: "I do my own talking points."