David Akin's Roundup

With just 10 days to go until election day, Canadians aren’t wasting time. Many are taking advantage of the long weekend to cast their ballot early. Meanwhile, party leaders were back on campaign trail today after trading political blows at last night’s English language debate. The final stretch of the campaign is crucial for the Liberals as they work to maintain their lead in the polls and keep U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats as a defining election issue. David Akin has more.

An old claim by Pierre Poilievre is back under the microscope. During his Conservative leadership run, Poilievre criticized the Bank of Canada’s response to inflation and vowed to fire its governor if he became prime minister. Now, as Mackenzie Gray reports, that promise is drawing new questions and Poilievre isn’t offering any clear answers. Highly recommend Mack's piece. [Global National]

At Yaletown's Roundhouse Community Centre, staff could be heard apologizing, saying "we only have four tables." Anecdotal evidence from Ottawa -- same long waits reported by friends and family in my riding, Carleton as well as other Ottawa ridings. Let me know about your voting experience if it's unusual.

An outspoken member of Alberta's legislature, booted from the United Conservative Party caucus, is airing more detailed allegations of what he calls government deception over a health-care contract. [CP]

U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with the Vatican’s No. 2 official after a remarkable papal rebuke of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants. [Christian Science Monitor]

The president’s decision to put across-the-board tariffs on virtually all foreign imports — and 145 percent duties on Chinese ones — has already cost many tech investors and founders dearly. Startups reliant on Chinese inputs have found themselves abruptly on the brink of insolvency. Other firms have been forced to cancel their IPOs amid bearish investor sentiment. The tech right hoped Trump’s election would clear the way for a wave of mergers, enabling venture-funded startups to cash out by selling their businesses to Big Tech firms. Yet his tariffs have eroded the value of major US tech companies, sapping their interest and capacity to buy out startups (while his administration’s approach to antitrust enforcement has proven more adversarial than anticipated). [Vox]