Vancouver street festival tragedy casts shadow over last day of federal election campaign

Vancouver police have reported that 11 people were killed — their ages ranging from five to 65 years old — and dozens more injured after a man drove into the crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival on Saturday night, in what interim police chief Steve Rai called “the darkest day in Vancouver’s history.”  

In Saskatoon, Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrived hours later than scheduled at a local indoor market where the packed crowd of supporters held a moment of silence and heard a prayer from an Indigenous elder. After expressing sorrow and condolences over the tragedy, Carney delivered his routine stump speech about the need to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump by electing another Liberal government.

The Liberals cancelled what was expected to be a large campaign rally in Calgary on Sunday, while Carney’s travelled to Edmonton for a brief stop to boost local mayor Amarjeet Sohi’s election effort. The Liberal leader was set to carry on to Vancouver to meet with B.C. Premier David Eby and community leaders later Sunday evening, Carney’s campaign said. 

Earlier, in Mississauga, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre visited a church to express his sadness over the “senseless violence” in Vancouver, before resuming his campaign with events in Oakville and Pickering, with another whistle stop scheduled Sunday evening in his Ottawa-area riding of Carleton. 

In Quebec City, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet continued his campaign and defended his party against questions about whether the enthusiasm of his partisans at the campaign event was appropriate after the Vancouver tragedy. 

Blanchet called the incident a “terrible act of violence” and offered sympathy to those close to the victims. 

Only NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who left the Lapu Lapu Day festival in Vancouver shortly before the deadly incident, cancelled the bulk of his campaign events on Sunday. 

Speaking in Penticton, B.C., in front of a group of supporters and candidates who, like the leader, were fighting back tears, Singh recalled the joy he witnessed at the event. The NDP leader later returned to Vancouver to visit a Filipino community church for afternoon mass. 

“I keep on thinking about the kids that I met, the joy. I was there literally minutes before this happened, and I can’t stop thinking about how much happiness was there, and then to have such a horrific thing happen, I keep on replaying it,” Singh said in Penticton as his voice broke. 

“We don’t know the details about what happened, but … clearly the Filipino community right now is feeling targeted,” said the NDP leader, who later said he believed his attendance at the festival was not related to the attack.

Carney, who remains prime minister during the campaign, was woken up by his team in Hamilton early Sunday morning for a 2 a.m. briefing about the incident, a source told the Star on condition they aren’t named.

Hours later, Carney was visibly emotional as he addressed reporters and explained how he was briefed overnight by his national security adviser Nathalie Drouin and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty. He said police have described the incident as a “car ramming attack” and that the suspect who allegedly drove the car is believed to have acted alone, and that there was no evidence of “any active threat to Canadians.” 

His voice wavering, Carney said he joined Canadians who are heartbroken over what happened.

“Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son. Those families are experiencing every family’s nightmare,” Carney said.

“To them and to the many others who were injured, to the Filipino-Canadian community and to everyone in the broader Lower Mainland (and) Vancouver, I would like to offer my deepest condolences and my wishes for strength and compassion in this tragic time. I know that I join all Canadians in mourning with you.” 

In Mississauga, Poilievre visited Christ the Living Stone Fellowship church with his wife, Anaida, where he mourned with members of the Filipino-Canadian community. 

“Ana and I just wanted you all to know that our hearts are with you today. All Canadians are united in solidarity with the Filipino community. All Canadians are united with you in mourning the loss of these treasured lives,” Poilievre said. 

Later, at what was expected to be Poilievre’s final campaign rally, he told an Oakville crowd to honour the victims and their families, and to “take inspiration from the lives that they lived.”

Like Carney, Poilievre picked up his political pitch as the campaign ticked to a close. He followed his appeal about the incident victims with a call to “unite our country” around a vision for a future in Canada where hard work is rewarded, something the Conservative leader said is out of reach for Canadians after a “lost Liberal decade” since the party took power in 2015. 

“I meet young people every day who believe they’ll never be able to afford a home,” Poilievre said, interacting from the stage with a 23-year-old in the crowd.

“You want to own a home, start a family, build a life? And you have hope today that we can vote for that change and give you that chance? You will.” 

In Penticton, Singh struggled to return to his campaign pitch when asked about his closing message of the election after Saturday night’s events.

“I would remind people, ultimately, one of our messages is that people have the power. We were able to achieve certain things, and we’re able to make people’s lives better,” the NDP leader said.

“Because people used their power and voted for New Democrats, we’ve got health care, we’ve got pensions, we’ve got things that we’re so proud of. It’s because of you.”

In a statement, Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May condemned the “shocking” attack and said “such violence has no place in Canadian society.”

With files from Star staff