(OTTAWA) Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre reiterated on Friday his belief that “everything seems broken” in Canada, attacking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for suggesting otherwise.
Mr Poilievre addressed Tory MPs during their two-day retreat from caucus before Parliament resumes in the Commons next Monday.
This return comes as the country faces the possibility of a recession.
His speech offered a critical assessment of Justin Trudeau’s nearly eight years in power. He began his speech with the question: “What is happening in our country? »
Throughout, Mr. Poilievre described the suffering he believes Canadians are experiencing – whether from high grocery prices or from crime, which he described as out of control – in areas where he judges that the government is failing. He cited the recent holiday travel chaos as an example of this.
Everything seems broken. Oh, Justin Trudeau will be offended that I said that. He thinks that if we don’t talk about the problems he caused, those problems will be forgotten. In fact, he said I should never talk about these issues because Canadians have never had a better life.
Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative leader backed up that latest comment, pointing to Trudeau’s remarks at the Liberal year-end party last month, where the Prime Minister countered the Conservative leader’s message by telling his supporters, “The Canada is not broken”.
Mr. Poilievre took the opportunity to highlight the controversy surrounding the McKinsey firm. “It’s going very well for McKinsey isn’t it,” he said. Yes you are right, for your little liberal friends, Justin, it is going very well”.
He accused Mr Trudeau of being unable to see how much people are suffering, saying their problems are Mr Trudeau’s sole fault.
“If you don’t believe me that there is suffering in our country, dear Justin, come with me to northern Ontario, where the elderly have to live in the cold, because they can’t pay your carbon tax on their heating,” Poilievre said.
He went on to give a second example, this time in Quebec, where seniors are “hungry” because they cannot afford the rising prices on food due, he says, to Mr. Trudeau on fertilizer.
Mr. Poilievre also mentioned families who have lost loved ones to drugs.
He also said that immigrants have been waiting for “months and months” to sponsor a family member while Mr. Trudeau allows “90,000 people to cross the border illegally at Roxham Road. »
“Yes, it was you, Mr. Trudeau, who caused these increases,” denounced the Conservative leader.
For his part, Justin Trudeau responded to Mr Poilievre’s remarks on his way to the Liberal caucus meeting by saying the Conservative leader was amplifying people’s anger, rather than “providing them with solutions”.1
Mr Poilievre told MPs on Friday morning that cities across the country were becoming “criminal zones” under Justin Trudeau’s rule, suggesting the Prime Minister is not taking responsibility.
Poilievre cited Toronto as an example after a series of violent incidents on the city’s transit system in recent weeks.
A Statistics Canada report released last November shows the country’s homicide rate has risen for the third year in a row, with cities like Winnipeg and Regina posting the worst rates per capita. The Crime Severity Index decreased in 2021 and 2020 after five years of increases.
“If Justin Trudeau can’t do anything about this, why is he here? Canadians deserve better,” he said to cheers and applause from the caucus.
Mr. Poilievre concluded by promising that the Conservatives would “convert the pain that Justin Trudeau caused into the hope that Canadians need”.
Financial responsibility
Mr. Poilievre has just completed a tour that included stops in Quebec, Northern Ontario and Winnipeg.
And while his first few months in leadership were focused on transitioning into office, he is now well into managing a 116-person caucus.
This is not without problems. This week, at the request of Mr Poilievre, the party whip advised MPs that they must set an example of fiscal responsibility by ending the practice of taxpayers paying for internet services at residence.
The House of Commons allows MPs to be reimbursed for these expenses through their office budget, but the Conservatives have asked their MPs and staff to stop.
Emails obtained by The Canadian Press show that several rural MPs have expressed their displeasure, asking the party not to change its policy until the caucus meets on Friday to discuss it.
Asked about those concerns, Mr Poilievre’s spokesman, Sebastian Skamski, referred to an earlier statement provided by Chief Opposition Whip Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who said the change had been made to light of the high cost of living.
Poilievre has also released several position papers over the past week, including an announcement that he plans to consult with First Nations to increase their access to resource revenues from their lands.