Ready to do “anything to win”, Pierre Poilievre chooses to be “negative, divisive and toxic”, deplores Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in light of videos shared on social networks where the Conservative leader encourages conspiracy demonstrators.
“Mr. Poilievre has chosen to be a politician who seeks division, fear and encourages right-wing extremists,” Mr. Trudeau said Wednesday at a press conference in Oakville, a suburb of Toronto.
In the videos in question, Mr. Poilievre goes to meet demonstrators who have planted a flag on which it is written “Fuck Trudeau” near the trailer he is visiting and on which the symbol of the Diagolon group is drawn.
The Diagolon group is described in a House of Commons report as a violent and ideologically motivated extremist organization. It shares members and affiliations with the “Freedom Convoy”, as well as with those who opposed health restrictions imposed by the government.
In another video, the Conservative leader says about the Prime Minister that “everything he says is bullshit, from start to finish.” He also announces a “great Canadian tax revolt”.
Called to react, the Conservative leader’s office explained that Mr. Poilievre noticed a demonstration against carbon pricing during a trip between two events in the Maritimes.
According to the account of one of his spokespersons who refused to be identified, he then decided to make a “brief impromptu stop”, being a “fervent opponent of Justin Trudeau’s punitive carbon tax, which increases the price of food, gasoline and heating.
“If Justin Trudeau is worried about extremism, he should look at the parades in Canadian streets openly celebrating the massacre of Jews by Hamas on October 7,” she added of actions that the former minister nevertheless criticized.
Support from a notorious conspiracy theorist
In his comments on Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau also pointed out in broad strokes that Mr. Poilievre did not denounce the support he received from notorious American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones who was ordered to pay almost a billion dollars in compensation to families of victims of a massacre perpetrated in a school after he had denied the reality.
“I’ve been following this guy for years, and he’s solid (the real deal). Canada desperately needs many more leaders like him, as does the rest of the world,” wrote Alex Jones on X, posting a video in which Mr. Poilievre speaks almost three weeks ago.
He is “the kind of man who says that Pierre Poilievre has the right ideas to bring the country to the right, towards conspiracy theories, towards extremism, towards polarization,” declared the Liberal leader.
He said his conservative opponent’s failure to disavow Mr. Jones “really shows that he will do anything to win, anything to stoke negativity and fear, and that only underlines that he has no nothing to say to really resolve the problems it is amplifying.”
On this subject, Mr. Poilievre’s office retorts that they do not follow or listen to “the individual” Alex Jones. “It is the support of Canadians who work hard every day that the Conservatives are working to win. Unlike Justin Trudeau, we don’t pay attention to what an American says,” said the same anonymous spokesperson.
Jumping into the fray, the leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, also accused Mr. Poilievre of adopting “repeatedly” an “irresponsible” speech. […] who fuels division, who fuels hatred.”
“He doesn’t care about people. He doesn’t care about the workers. He only cares about power. And he will do whatever it takes to divide Canadians, to hurt people, to achieve that,” Mr. Singh told reporters in Edmonton.
With information from Émilie Bergeron