TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday the key question in Canada's election is who is best to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump while his Conservative rival argued that Carney doesn't represent change after a decade of Liberal Party rule.
Opposition Conservative Pierre Poilievre said during the French-language leaders’ debate Canada needs change and Carney is just like his predecessor Justin Trudeau.
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New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh participates in the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes a point towards Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during the French-language federal leaders' debate in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre makes a point as he participates in the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre listen to Liberal leader Mark Carney speak during the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
From left to rigt, Liberal leader Mark Carney, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pose for a photo before the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
“Mr. Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr. Trump," Carney said.
Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Liberal Party poll numbers ahead of the April 28 vote.
Poilievre is imploring Canadians not to give the Liberals a fourth term. He hoped to make the election a referendum on Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.
But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became Liberal party leader and prime minister after a party leadership race.
“One of the differences, there are many, but one of the differences between the two of us is that I put much more emphasis on the economy, on growing the economy,” Carney said when asked about Trudeau at a news conference after the debate. “In fact in this circumstance that we are in, given the scale of the crisis, I would say relentless focus on growing the economy.”
During the debate Carney said he has only been prime minister for a month.
“We need change. You do not embody change,” Poilievre said to Carney.
Bloc Québécois Yves-François Blanche, whose party is losing support to Carney's Liberals in Quebec, agreed, saying the Liberals are the same party, the same ministers and the same lawmakers and a new leader does not change that.
But public opinion has changed. In a mid-January poll by Nanos, Liberals trailed the Conservative Party by 47% to 20%. In the latest Nanos poll released Wednesday, the Liberals led by 8 percentage points. The January poll had a margin of error 3.1 points while the latest poll had a 2.7-point margin.
“Carney, who played safe, did not make the kind of big mistakes that could have altered the dynamic of the race in Quebec,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. “I don’t think the debate will have a major impact on the race in Quebec, which remains dominated by the Liberals.”
The French debate was moved up by two hours to minimize a conflict with a Montreal Canadiens hockey game. The NHL team faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET, and clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This isn’t the first time NHL hockey has elbowed its way onto the campaign trail. During the 2011 election, former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe asked for a debate to be postponed due to a Canadiens hockey game, and his request was granted.
The English language debate is Thursday evening.
New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh participates in the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes a point towards Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during the French-language federal leaders' debate in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre makes a point as he participates in the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre listen to Liberal leader Mark Carney speak during the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
From left to rigt, Liberal leader Mark Carney, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pose for a photo before the French-language federal leaders' debate, in Montreal, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, both countries said Thursday, but hopes for a breakthrough remained dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.
Zelenskyy said he is sending a team headed by his defense minister from the Turkish capital Ankara to Istanbul to meet a Russian delegation, even though Moscow's side doesn’t include “anyone who actually makes decisions.”
The Ukrainian side would be headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and its aim is “to attempt at least the first steps toward de-escalation, the first steps toward ending the war — namely, a ceasefire,” he said.
Few had expected Putin to show up in Turkey, and his absence punctured any hope of significant progress toward ending the 3-year-old war amid peace efforts in recent months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders. It also raised the prospect of intensified international sanctions on Russia that have been threatened by the West.
Zelenskyy, who flew Thursday to Ankara after challenging Putin to sit down with him, accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as “a theater prop.”
His proposal to Putin came amid a flurry of maneuvering last weekend as each side sought a diplomatic advantage.
Zelenskyy said he decided to send the delegation to Istanbul to demonstrate to U.S. President Donald Trump that Ukraine wants to end the fighting.
The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the U.N. Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.
At least five civilians were killed and 29 wounded in the past day, according to authorities in five eastern regions of Ukraine where Russia is trying to advance.
The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said in Istanbul that the representatives were ready to meet Ukrainian officials.
“The task of these direct negotiations with Ukraine is to establish long-term peace sooner or later by eliminating the root causes of this conflict,” he said in a brief statement.
It was not clear when they would meet. The Russian state news agency Tass reported that the talks will go ahead Friday, citing an unidentified source.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would confer Friday in Istanbul with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Ukrainian delegation, adding that the Russian delegation would be meeting with other members of the U.S. team and that he hoped all sides could get together.
“We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters in Antalya, Turkey, where he was attending a NATO foreign ministers meeting.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier welcomed Zelenskyy to the presidential palace in Ankara for their own talks. Zelenskyy heads Friday to Albania for a gathering of European officials.
The diplomatic maneuvering began Saturday when European leaders met Zelenskyy in Kyiv and urged the Kremlin to agree to a full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a first step toward peace. Putin responded early Sunday by proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. Then came Zelenskyy's challenge to Putin for face-to-face talks.
After days of silence, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov finally said Thursday that Putin had no plans to travel to Istanbul in the next few days.
Trump said he was not surprised that Putin was a no-show. He had pressed for Putin and Zelenskyy to meet but brushed off the Kremlin leader’s decision not to attend.
“I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump told reporters in Doha, Qatar, on the third day of his visit to the Middle East.
Trump said a meeting between him and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until (Putin) and I get together,” he said on Air Force One while traveling from Doha to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”
Peskov said Putin has no plans to meet with Trump in the coming days.
Medinsky, Putin's aide, is leading the Russian team that also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks in Istanbul.
Also absent from the talks were Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, both of whom represented Russia at talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia in March.
The top-level Ukrainian delegation included Umerov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, a Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy will sit at the negotiating table only with Putin, said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
Putin met Wednesday with senior government officials and members of the delegation in preparation for the talks, Peskov said. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov and National Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu attended.
The Kremlin billed the Istanbul talks as a “restart” of peace negotiations held there in 2022 that quickly collapsed. Moscow accused Ukraine and the West of wanting to continue fighting, while Kyiv said Russia’s demands amounted to an ultimatum, not something both sides could agree on. That delegation also was also headed by Medinsky.
Putin's proposal came after more than three months of diplomacy kick-started by Trump, who promised during his campaign to end the war swiftly — although it's been hard to pull off. The Trump administration in recent weeks indicated it might walk away from the effort if there was no tangible progress soon.
Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, met with Rubio and Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday night in Antalya.
Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine’s support for Trump’s mediation efforts and thanked the U.S. for its continued involvement, urging Moscow to “reciprocate Ukraine’s constructive steps” toward peace. "So far, it has not,” Sybiha said.
On Thursday morning, Sybiha also met with other European foreign ministers, including his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, who in a post on X reiterated the call for a ceasefire and the threat of “massive sanctions” if Russia doesn't comply.
“We’re in a very difficult spot right now, and we hope that we can find the steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any war in the future," Rubio said Thursday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Putin of “standing in the way of peace.”
“There was only one country that started this conflict — that was Russia. That was Putin. There’s only one country now standing in the way of peace — that is Russia, that is Putin,” he said in a visit to Tirana, Albania.
Barrot echoed that sentiment: “In front of Ukrainians, there is an empty chair, one that should have been occupied by Vladimir Putin,” he said. “Vladimir Putin is dragging his feet and in all evidence does not want to enter into these peace discussions.”
Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels; Illia Novikov and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; Aamer Madhani in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Matthew Lee in Antalya, Turkey, contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to journalists at the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
In this handout photo released by Turkish Presidency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Turkish Presidency via AP)
Ayse Sahil, whose family emigrated from Bolshevik in Russia, holds a board near Dolmabahce palace where talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
Turkish security members stand guard at Dolmabahce palace where talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks down the stairs from his plane upon his arrival at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures to journalists as he leaves upon his arrival at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to journalists as he arrives at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukrainian official plane, background, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on board lands at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on forthcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on forthcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
