Trudeau criticized at debate for calling Canadian election

By ROB GILLIES
Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — The leaders of Canada’s opposition parties have used the second debate of the campaign to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for calling parliamentary elections during a pandemic. Trudeau called the vote last month hoping to win a majority of seats in Parliament, but polls indicate his Liberal party could lose power to the Conservatives in the Sept 20 election. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole asked Trudeau during the French-language debate Wednesday night why he forced elections amid the coronavirus pandemic. Leftist New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh accused Trudeau of being selfish, saying the election is nothing but an attempt to grab more power. Trudeau defended his efforts, noting Canada is one of the most fully vaccinated nations in the world.