Part of Poilievre’s strategy includes faulting the Liberal Party of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for doing “nothing” to make Canada less dependent upon the U.S. economy, even though the threat of Trump’s tariffs was painfully clear.
“They’ve left us helpless,” Poilievre complained before debuting his own strategy, blasting the Liberals for weakening the Canadian economy with high taxes and heavy regulations that pushed Canadian businesses across the border into the United States.
Poilievre succinctly summarized his “Canada First” plan as “axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime.”
The first point referred to Trudeau’s steadily increasing carbon tax. The second point was a reference to Canada’s housing crisis, in which housing costs skyrocketed and banks began offering absurdly long mortgages under Trudeau’s policies. The Conservatives believe an important part of the answer lies in cutting red tape to increase new home construction.
WATCH — Trump on Negotiations with Trudeau: We Don’t Need Canada “for Anything”:
Poilievre largely dismissed President Trump’s complaints about Canada’s weak border security and fentanyl smuggling, although he conceded that Trudeau’s Liberals “have not done enough on fentanyl,” which is killing huge numbers of Canadians as well as Americans.
Poilievre said Trump “stabbed America’s best friend in the back” with his tariffs.
“My message to the president is this: Canada will fight back,” he said. “We will defend our people and our economy, and we will put Canada first.”
“There’s no doubt that our economy will suffer,” Poilievre conceded. “But so will yours, President Trump. In fact, you’re already paying the price with trillions of dollars erased in stock market value over the last month of these threats.”
WATCH — Oh, Canada… Trump Threatens Canada’s Leadership With Increased Tariff’s for “Abuse” of USA:
“Already, Americans are paying higher gas prices as, at midnight, a new American gas tax kicked in on U.S. working-class taxpayers and motorists,” he said.
Poilievre predicted that American workers would lose their jobs as they lost access to Canadian raw materials they were “getting at an incredible and ridiculous bargain.”
“And your businesses will be selling fewer products to your closest neighbor — and that’s only the beginning,” he warned.
Poilievre said Canadians are “slow to anger and quick to forgive,” but Trump’s tariffs have “provoked” them to fight back.”
Addressing the “millions of Canadians who are anxious today” after Trump “attacked” the Canadian economy, the Conservative opposition leader promised to fight for their jobs, families, and “chance at owning and paying off a home” — a dig at Trudeau and his liberals, on a Conservative signature issue, slipped into a speech largely directed at Trump.
“I will fight to put Canada first,” he promised.
Poilievre’s feisty attitude could be partly due to polls that show the Liberals coming back after a disastrous year in which they ran 20 points behind the Conservatives and seemed in real danger of slipping into third place behind the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP).
Some of this polling surge could be due to voters deciding they disliked Trudeau much more than they disapproved of his party, so with the unpopular prime minister on his way out, the Liberals recaptured some lost ground.
Some political analysts in both Canada and the U.S. are convinced Trump’s tariff threats also played a role in jolting the Liberals back to life. Canadians are said to be furious at Trump, and with Trudeau gone, they appear willing to take a second look at the Liberals as the party more likely to fight back against Trump with both passion and effectiveness.
“People who have followed Canadian politics for a long time can’t think of an instance where we’ve seen a shift in vote intention that’s as rapid and as significant as what the polls are currently showing,” University of Calgary political science professor told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
Poilievre’s remarks on Monday and Tuesday were clearly calibrated to reassure Canadian voters he is ready and willing to fight back against Trump, and also to remind voters that the Liberals left Canada in a weak position for that fight.
Poilievre finds himself competing against Liberal leaders whose task is to convince voters they can handle Trump far better than the exhausted pipsqueak who will shortly vacate the prime minister’s office — unless the reinvigorated and suddenly tough-talking Trudeau decides his hour has not passed after all.
Trump raised that possibility in a social media post Wednesday after a phone call with Trudeau he described as “somewhat friendly.”
“He was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what’s going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power. Good luck Justin!” Trump wrote.
Breitbart News
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