(Ottawa) In the National Post, former minister John Baird accuses Justin Trudeau of giving in to pressure from pro-Palestinian members of his caucus. On X, the former ambassador to Tel Aviv under Stephen Harper, Vivian Bercovici, describes the prime minister as a “toxic anti-Semite”. Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, focused his attacks on national issues.
“Former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird says Justin Trudeau was responding to pressure from members of his own caucus to take a more pro-Palestinian stance when he urged Israel to show great restraint,” writes the columnist John Ivison in the National Post.
In the same interview, the man who was the head of Canadian diplomacy from 2011 to 2015 noted that Benjamin Netanyahu was not the only one to condemn the Prime Minister of Canada for his comments. “Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, joined in,” noted John Baird, who co-chaired Pierre Poilievre’s leadership campaign.
The exit of the Israeli politician, who was prime minister before the return of Benjamin Netanyahu, attracted the attention of the former Canadian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Vivian Bercovici. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is and has always been anti-Semitic,” she replied on X on Wednesday.
The ex-diplomat, who was sacked by the Liberal government in 2016 – she then sued the government; a settlement was reached between the two parties – used the expression “toxic anti-Semite” in another message. Back when she was in Tel Aviv, her posts on Twitter (now X) raised eyebrows1.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, also extremely active on social networks, has published relatively few messages on the war between Israel and Hamas since October 7. We have identified around 25 out of several hundred2.
Requested Wednesday by The Press in response to Prime Minister Trudeau’s hardening tone and Netanyahu’s anger, his team did not respond. Relaunched the next day, an attaché notably provided a link to a video of a press briefing by Pierre Poilievre dating back to Monday – therefore prior to the news.
Do not deviate from the message
However, we know very well where the Conservative Party stands: Israel has the right to defend itself against what the leader called the “terrorist sect of Hamas”. That said, in the House of Commons, the number of questions devoted to the war by Pierre Poilievre and his troops is marginal.
The overwhelming majority of questions concern the cost of living and the “carbon tax”.
In the Bloc Québécois, on the other hand, we frequently demand accountability from the Liberals. And leader Yves-François Blanchet has increased his speeches on the issue – at the risk of painting himself into a corner and having to walk on the paint, particularly on the question of the ceasefire, which he has finished by demanding after having judged the thing unrealistic.
If Pierre Poilievre prefers to defer to members of his caucus like Michael Chong or Melissa Lantsman when the time comes to pronounce on the war, it is probably in part to avoid getting his feet wet, says the political scientist Geneviève Tellier.
It’s a slippery slope. I think he has more to lose by speaking than by not speaking. We know his position.
Geneviève Tellier, full professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa
But it’s not just that: it’s not “in her script,” she adds.
“I think he doesn’t want to dilute his message. He really wants to focus on one theme – the cost of living – and really hammer it home. After all, it worked with carbon pricing,” she notes, referring to the Liberals’ retreat on the climate plan.
The strategy of the Poilievre team is understandable, judges Marc-André Leclerc, former conservative tactician. “If I were in their place, I would definitely be careful. If I were there, I would say: “Gangwe are not going to add fuel to the fire, there is already enough tension throughout the country,” he pleads on the phone.
But isn’t it the role of the opposition to oppose or propose? “Do we always have to disagree on everything? It is certain that it is an essential issue, and it is certain that the conservatives, one day or another, will not have the choice to take a position,” believes Andrew Scheer’s former chief of staff. .
On October 24, Conservative Michael Chong declared that the party supported the “humanitarian pauses” which have been requested by several countries, including Canada. The party did not specify its position on the ceasefire – no elected official, however, made such a request – nor on Justin Trudeau’s call for “greater restraint” in the Gaza Strip.
2. Most of the posts were about the killings of Canadians by Hamas. The review includes indirect remarks, for example those of MPs on the journalistic treatment of Hamas by the CBC, and subtracts messages published twice, in French and in English.