(Ottawa) The president of the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC), Canada’s largest labor organization, compares Pierre Poilievre to a “conman” because he tried to present himself as a friend of the working class.
Bea Bruske encouraged union leaders to do everything they can to expose him before the next federal election.
She made her call to arms on Thursday as the CLC met in Ottawa to strategize ahead of the federal election, which will take place no later than October 2025.
New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the gathering Thursday and took aim at the Conservatives. Canada’s three major political parties are fighting for blue-collar votes.
The war of words comes days after the Liberals tabled a federal budget that raises taxes on the wealthy and includes funding for NDP priorities like pharmacare and dental care.
Mr. Poilievre was not invited to speak at the rally.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canadian Labor Congress President Bea Bruske and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
Although polls suggest that Mr. Poilievre’s cost-of-living message resonates with workers, Mr.me Bruske says his history of supporting back-to-work laws makes him hostile to unions.
“We must do everything in our power to expose Pierre Poilievre’s scam,” said Mr.me Bruske. We must have no illusions. »
“Whatever he claims today, Mr. Poilievre has a 20-year record as an anti-worker politician,” she added. Have you ever seen him, somewhere in Canada, on a picket line? »
The Conservative Party leader has spent the past two years crisscrossing the country, presenting himself as the leader who understands the anxieties working-class Canadians feel about the current affordability crisis.
“Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh have abandoned Canadian workers,” lamented Conservative spokesperson Sebastian Skamski in a statement Thursday.
Canadian workers have never been in a worse situation, he argued, accusing the political pact concluded between the Liberals and the NDP of having prevented the holding of early elections.
“Jagmeet Singh betrayed Canadian workers to get his own pension and a place in Justin Trudeau’s government,” continued Mr. Skamski. Pierre Poilievre is the one who listens and speaks to workers in factories and union halls from coast to coast. »
Mr. Poilievre likes to point out that he has spoken to more unions than the business community. Under his leadership, Conservatives also voted in favor of a bill to prohibit workplaces under federal jurisdiction from using replacement workers during strikes or lockouts. This is a significant change for the Conservatives.
Since becoming leader, he has also resisted asking the prime minister for back-to-work legislation in response to conflicts, such as the strike of thousands of public servants last spring.
“Poilievre hates unions”
For their part, MM. Trudeau and Singh are trying to discourage members of the labor movement from looking towards Mr. Poilievre.
“The Conservative leader likes to pretend that he is there for the workers. The Liberal government, on the other hand, has in fact invoked new labor protection measures, legislation on sustainable employment and the restoration to 65 of the age of eligibility for the Guaranteed Income Supplement,” he defended. the Prime Minister.
Mr. Poilievre would reduce or cancel these measures, insisted Mr. Trudeau. “He continues to show by his electoral record, by his approach to things – regardless of the populist discourse he gives to workers – that he has not changed his position against workers over the course of 19 years. »
For his part, Mr. Singh took credit for much of the pro-worker legislation touted by Mr. Trudeau in his speech and accused Mr. Poilievre of wanting to undo all the work of the NDP.
He presented himself as a better choice for voters who might be “fed up” with Liberals.
“There’s a guy who hates unions and loves big business, and who wants to cut and destroy the services that people need. Otherwise, there is another man who fundamentally believes that working class workers should be at the heart of every decision we make. »