Image source, Reuters

Singh is asked about rising costs in Canada, and says he is the only person who fought for pharmacare, dental care and child care - all measures that Poilievre and Blanchet voted against.

"You can't entrust all the power to Mr Carney," the NDP leader says, pivoting to attack the Conservatives and the Bloc.

Poilievre continues attacking Mark Carney over the cost of living, saying the Liberals raised taxes on nine out of 10 Canadians. He says the Conservatives would cut income tax by 15% and would be "rewarding hard work again".

Image source, Reuters

Carney says there is a misunderstanding of "how the governments balance sheet can catalyse enormous private investment".

They can do this to solve the housing crisis, he adds.

Blanchet then chimes in.

He says there is no proof so far that Carney cannot do what he says they will do.

They cannot "be entitled to do it alone. You cannot be entitled to hold all the power" to fix Canada, he says passionately.

They cannot speak for Quebec without the province having its "own strong voice".

If Carney's party wants to collaborate, they will be a partner with Quebec with its own economy and identity, he states.

Singh is attacking both Poilievre and Carney on housing.

First, he goes after Poilievre's record as housing minister during Stephen Harper's administration.

He says Poilievre oversaw the building of just six houses, a claim the Conservative leader disputed. It was 200,000 homes, he says.

Everyone seems to be piling on against Carney.

The Liberal leader responds to Poilievre's attack first, saying he spent years fighting against Trudeau and the carbon tax. "They're both gone," Carney says.

Responding to both Poilievre and Singh, he says he will increase financing for developers by $5bn, lower the cost of home building by 20%, and lower emissions and maintenance costs by another 20%.

You said you'd be different to Trudeau, Blanchet says as he joins the attack on Carney, but "you have to show that you are any better than Trudeau".

Carney haunted by Trudeau's recordpublished at 00:33 British Summer Time 18 April

00:33 BST 18 April

Jessica Murphy
Reporting from Montreal

Image source, Reuters

"I'm a very different person from Justin Trudeau," Carney just said.

But don't expect the other leaders on the stage to stop pushing the new Liberal leader on the party's past decade in power.

The Conservative's Poilievre for weeks has been hammering the slogan "the lost Liberal decade".

As a reminder, Trudeau, facing internal pressure amid slumping polls and some special election losses, resigned in March as prime minister.

Jagmeet Singh is asked about Government Standard Tax (GST). He says he is the only one on the stage to fight to get a holiday for the GST.

He says it would help working class and middle class people. The Conservatives voted against it, he says, which shows that they'd rather give millionaires a tax break.

Carney also opposed it, he says. He asks Carney directly why he thinks giving a tax break to millionaires is good, but it's bad to give it to people who are struggling with the cost of living.

Poilievre is the first to reply. He blames the Liberal Party for housing costs rising, and, speaking directly to voters, says Carney wants a fourth Liberal term to repeat the same promises that "priced you out of a house".

Image source, Reuters

Bloc leader Blanchet answers a question on how to pay for social services for the elderly.

He says that to pay for an expansive increase in Old Age Security, he proposes ending foreign tax loopholes. Everyone needs to pay their fair share, he says.

Next, Carney returns to the topic of housing.

He says he agrees with a proposal to reduce taxes for first-time home buyers.

Image source, Reuters

Moving on to the next segment, moderator Paikin asks Conservative leader Poilievre why his housing plan will meet housing targets.

The Conservative leader says housing costs have doubled in the last decade under the Liberals, saying Canada cannot afford another Liberal government.

He says his plan will:

• axe the federal sales tax on new homes
• incentivise municipalities to cut their construction taxes to bring house prices down
• sell federal land for homes
• train 350,000 young people to build those homes

Jagmeet Singh is next, and is asked about the rising cost of living.

The NDP leader endorses a cap on the price of essential foods, ban landlords from buying affordable homes, and take on corporations who are price gouging.

Singh pushes to make his pointspublished at 00:21 British Summer Time 18 April

00:21 BST 18 April

Jessica Murphy
Reporting from Montreal

Jagmeet Singh is fighting to be heard tonight. On Wednesday, he had the least amount of time on the debate clock at the end of the night.

Now, he's clearly making sure his points get heard, even if it means interjecting.

His NDP has been lagging in the polls - this is a chance for the party to make an impression on soft Liberal voters.

Poilievre is last to speak on the theme of tariffs and threats to Canada.

He says they "need change" and their plan for change is to repeal the no new pipelines law, and set up "shovel ready zones" to boost mines, hydro-electric damns and pipelines.

Carney brings it back to the theme. He says they "need these options to build domestically, to build one Canadian economy".

Moderator Paikin calls time on this first section.

Image source, Reuters

Pierre Poilievre replies to Carney, saying the Liberal leader's comments are a "total contradiction".

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh interrupts the Conservative leader several times, making it clear that both the Liberals and the Conservatives are pro-pipeline.

Singh says Canada needs an east-west energy grid which would create good jobs and strengthen the country for the future.

Bloc's goal will be to go after Carneypublished at 00:18 British Summer Time 18 April

00:18 BST 18 April

Jessica Murphy
Reporting from Montreal

For all the leaders on stage, the one with least to lose is the Bloc Quebecois' Yves Francois Blanchet. His big night was last night's French-language debate.

But expect him trying to land blows on Liberal Mark Carney.

The Bloc is a federal party, but only runs candidates in Quebec, and it's struggling in the polls in the province against the Liberals.

A number of Bloc voters I spoke with over the last few days in the province say they want the certainty of a majority government in Ottawa to handle the threats from the US - many see Carney as the one who can deliver on that.

And you saw a flavour of that moments ago, with Blanchet taking Carney to task.

Image source, Reuters

Next it's Yves-Francois Blanchet, Bloc Quebecois leader.

He says Carney is "becoming a real Canadian leader, saying one thing in French and another in English".

Blanchet says Carney has previously said he would force oil and gas through pipelines in Quebec. But then two days later Carney said he wouldn't, Blanchet says.

He agrees with Carney though that it's "important to be very strong" in front of Trump.

Carney hasn't "raised one finger" to help Quebec, he argues.

Poilievre now speaks, and cites a new Liberal law that "effectively" bans pipelines.

He asks Carney why he's keeping this law in place, that "empowers" Donald Trump.

Carney says he wants solutions such as building energy infrastructure.

"That means pipelines."

To do this, they must cooperate with the provinces, he says.

Carney is now being forced to defend his record, after he recently became prime minister following Justin Trudeau's resignation as Liberal leader earlier this year.

Singh says while he recognises Carney has been in office for only a short time, he attacks him for recent tax changes which he said shows Carney is focused more on the millionaire class rather than average Canadians.

Paikin asks all the leaders whether they support dollar-for-dollar tariffs, even if they damage the Canadian economy.

Carney says that as prime minister he has already moved away from dollar-to-dollar tariffs, saying Canada's economy is much smaller than the United States'. He says he is focused on maximising the harm in the US and minimising their effect in Canada.

Poilievre attacks Carney, saying the Liberals have given the US a monopoly over Canadian energy and have made the country weaker.

Up next is Yves-Francois Blanchet, Bloc Quebecois leader.

He is asked about support he would want to see for Canadian industries affected by tariffs.

Blanchet, avoiding the question, says they should "never underestimate the threat" that Trump imposes on the Canadian economy, especially Quebec.

He says the challenges in his province are not the same as throughout the rest of Canada, and it should have its "own voice" in any negotiations.

"We have the right to be different," he says, and any future prime minister should respect this, and in return they will get Quebec as a reliable partner.

Image source, Reuters

Answering his first question, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh describes the breakdown of the relationship between Canada and the US as "a betrayal."

He says the relationship with the US he knew as a kid growing up in the border town of Windsor is no longer the current reality.

Responding to a question about Arctic security, he says Canada can no longer trust the US.

Paikin moves to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, asking what he would do differently to Carney's previous response.

Poilievre says Canada would need to deter the US with tariffs of their own.

We need to be in a position of strength, he says, but the Liberals have made the country weaker and "incapable of shipping our resources overseas".

Poilievre says he would cut taxes and red tape, approve resources projects so Canadians can get our goods to market to stand up to Trump "from a position of strength".

Image source, Reuters

The debate has begun.

First to take the floor is moderator and journalist Steve Paikin.

He's outlining the rules, which include that the leaders have agreed to have no notes, to stay on time, and to stick to the theme.

The first theme will be tariffs and threats to Canada. Each leader has a minute to answer, with the first question thrown to Carney.

Carney is asked what the starting point is for Canada's relationship with the United States now.

Carney says the relationship with the US over the last 40 years has "fundamentally changed" following the tariffs put in place by US President Donald Trump.

The starting point "has to be one of strength", he tells Paikin. He cites counter tariffs they have put in place against President Trump's tariffs.

Image source, Reuters

The stage is set and the party leaders are stood at their podiums, after getting pictures taken.

We are now just moments away from the Canadian English-language election debate.

As a reminder, we'll be hearing from:

• Mark Carney, Liberal Party leader
• Pierre Poilievre, Conservative Party leader
• Jagmeet Singh, New Democratic Party leader
• Yves-Francois Blanchet, Bloc Quebecois leader

To begin, each of them will take turns to give an opening statement, before we get into the questions.

Stick with us, things are about to start happening.