Canada is “not broken”, any more than its government is “too woke”, says Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who presented to his activists his strategy for winning a fourth term: go after the Conservatives disappointed by Pierre Poilievre .
“Many conservative Canadians feel let down by what the Conservative Party has become. They didn’t leave their party, their party left them,” Justin Trudeau said Thursday night.
He was addressing the hundreds of delegates gathered Thursday for the first day of the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Ottawa. “Our Liberal movement will continue to be there for all Canadians,” he continued, to loud applause.
Justin Trudeau has mentioned the leader of the official opposition in Ottawa a dozen times since last September, Pierre Poilievre, in a 30-minute speech.
He ridiculed several positions taken by his main opponent in the House of Commons. Mr. Poilievre was thus presented as a politician who opposed the agreement with Volkswagen to build a battery factory, who supported the “illegal occupations” of the Freedom Convoy, and who provided advice on misplaced investments in cryptocurrency.
“Let’s be honest, it doesn’t sound very serious to have the Leader of the Official Opposition swapping memes [sur Twitter] with billionaires in the United States to compromise our independent Canadian institutions, ”he said, in English.
He was referring to Mr. Poilievre’s support for Twitter owner Elon Musk to display the CBC English network as a “government-funded media” on his platform. Justin Trudeau also reserved part of his speech to defend the public broadcaster, essential according to him for the protection of the French language in the country.
Not too “woke”
He dismissed out of hand the idea that his party had become “too woke”, citing in front of his activists a whole list of progressive policies, such as the national $10 child care program.
“Too woke? Hey, Pierre Poilievre, it’s time to wake up, ”he said in response to his opponent, whom he describes at one point as “populist”. His supporters appreciated his demonstration, to the point of chanting his first name: “Justin!, Justin! »
The Liberal leader’s speech also made several references to the relationship between Canada and the United States. He spoke of his record of “standing up in front of [l’ex-]President Donald Trump”. On the contrary, he criticized Mr. Poilievre for wasting his brief interview with President Joe Biden to complain about the vaccination obligations. The crowd booed.
Justin Trudeau thus presented to his activists the narrative according to which federal politics is “a choice” binary between his vision and that of Mr. Poilievre, in a world which is “increasingly polarized”. He wants his party to be recognized for its economic achievements and for its message to be carried to ordinary workers, “the middle class and ordinary people”.
For example, he invited the crowd to give a standing ovation for Michael, a construction worker whom he says he met at one of his town hall meetings and who he believes represents the kind of voters the Liberal Party should not be taken for granted.
He has made it clear that he will be a candidate in the next federal election. “When the next elections come, […] it will be the honor of my life to lead us there. »
The Liberal Party of Canada reached an agreement last year with the New Democratic Party (NDP) to stay in power until 2025. This party was also completely ignored in Mr. Trudeau’s speech.
First congress in five years
Before him, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, harangued the crowd by also attacking the leader of the opposition, but also the leader of the Bloc Québécois. “It is surely not thanks to Yves-François Blanchet that we are going to invest record sums in the protection of French in Quebec and across Canada: he will vote against the budget! »
Thursday was the first day of the Liberal Party of Canada convention, which is being held in Ottawa until Saturday. The headliner of the event is Hillary Clinton, who is to be interviewed by Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister and former journalist Chrystia Freeland on Friday evening.
The Prime Minister took the opportunity Thursday to shake hands and take self-portraits with his activists, before flying to the coronation of Charles III, in London, on the last day of the congress.
In 2021, the Liberal convention was held entirely on the web, in virtual mode. The Liberals last met in person in 2018.