(Ottawa) The rising cost of living will be one of the dominant issues in the next federal election, predicts MP Pierre Poilievre, who is running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. And the Conservatives cannot hope to win the battle against Justin Trudeau’s Liberals led by a leader who, according to him, has already increased the burden on consumers.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
In an interview with The Press before embarking on a tour of Quebec, Pierre Poilievre defended himself from attacking his main opponent in this race, the former premier of Quebec Jean Charest. He said he just wanted to highlight his record as prime minister.
Even before Jean Charest confirmed last week that he would attempt a return to the federal scene by launching the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party, the main tenors of Pierre Poilievre’s campaign multiplied the attacks against him on the networks. social issues by describing him as a liberal of the same ilk as Justin Trudeau. They notably maintained that he had increased the sales tax in Quebec, established a carbon exchange and denounced the abolition of the firearms registry.
PHOTO TODD KOROL, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Jean Charest, during the official announcement of his candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party, in Calgary, on March 10
“I wouldn’t call it attacks. I would say that’s a summary of his record. It’s true. Honestly, how can you win an election over inflation with a leader who has already raised the sales tax? This is his record. It is sad. But that’s it, ”argued the voluble MP, considered the leader at the start of this race.
Me, I helped Stephen Harper to reduce the sales tax, to reduce the costs for consumers. I believe that the main issue in the upcoming elections will be inflation and the cost of living. At the federal level, I am the only one who talks about it in Quebec. And no less than 73% of Quebecers are concerned about inflation.
Pierre Poilievre, candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party
Mr Poilievre said he intends to present a detailed economic plan to fight inflation during the race, which will end on September 10. This plan will also contain measures to reduce the deficit and support the growth of the economy. To melt the deficit, he would cancel the $100 billion stimulus package contained in the Trudeau government’s most recent budget and abolish the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
“My main concern is to fight inflation. I will have a very clear plan that will reduce the deficit and stop the printing of money by the Bank of Canada. And I think we will win the elections on this issue. This is the reason why we cannot have a leader who has a record of increasing taxes on consumers, ”he pleaded.
Law 21 invites itself into the race
On the first lap of this race, the contending candidates were forced to decide on the State Secularism Act, adopted by the National Assembly. One of the candidates, the mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, denounced Bill 21 by confirming his intentions during a press conference on Sunday. As mayor, he launched a mobilization of certain Canadian cities to finance the challenge of this law in court.
On this subject, Mr. Poilievre stated that he was also opposed to this law, but he believes that the jurisdictions of the provinces must be respected. “I am against this law. I think it’s bad law. I recognize that the Quebec nation has the right to make its own laws. I respect provincial jurisdictions. But I hope that Quebecers will decide to repeal this law,” he said.
Pipeline construction
Mr. Poilievre has also made the abolition of the carbon “tax” his main concern since the start of the race. In an interview, he said he intended to present a credible plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “The carbon tax just sends jobs and industries elsewhere to more polluting countries, and that has had the effect of increasing global emissions,” he said.
Poilievre said Canadians are ripe for a new conversation about building pipelines in this country. He claimed that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was funding his war effort in Ukraine by selling oil and gas to the European country.
“We have to talk about the real choices. The choice is not to eliminate oil tomorrow. The choice is whether we will import oil from abroad or whether we will produce ethical and responsible energy in Canada. Quebecers have already shown in polls that if they have to choose between energy from Canada versus oil from abroad, Quebecers prefer Canadian energy. Also with what is happening in Europe and the invasion of Russia, we now see what happens when we give the entire oil market to the dictators of the planet. »