Poilievre challenged Trudeau to refrain from raising taxes, and Trudeau criticized Poilievre’s use of bullies and divisive rhetoric. It’s been two days since Poilieve cruised to victory in the first vote to become leader of the Conservative party. He met with the Conservative national caucus on Monday morning, including MPs and senators, to deliver his inaugural speech as party leader. Trudeau is currently in New Brunswick for a three-day retreat with the Liberal caucus ahead of next week’s House of Commons session.
KUZITA, WHISTLES AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
Speaking at the retreat, Trudeau initially congratulated Poilievre on his victory before making pointed comments about Poilievre’s economic views. “We are making every effort to work with all MPs and will continue to do so,” he said on Monday. “But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to invoke very questionable, reckless economic ideas. What Canadians need is responsible leadership.” He said Poilevre once championed cryptocurrencies, which have seen massive market losses over the past year, as a way for Canadians to avoid inflation. “Telling people they can ‘opt out of inflation’ by investing their savings in volatile cryptocurrencies is not responsible leadership,” Trudeau said. “When Conservative politicians say we need to fight inflation with more pollution, this group will remind them that climate change is real and that real people are being affected by the floods and worsening fires.” Trudeau also denounced Poulevre’s “buzzwords, whistles and careless attacks,” saying the Conservative leaders’ methods “are not consistent with a plan for Canadians.” “Attacking the institutions that make our society fair, safe and free is not responsible leadership. Fighting the vaccines that saved millions of lives? It is not responsible leadership. Do you oppose the support and investment that helped save jobs, businesses and families during the pandemic? It is not responsible leadership.” He also flatly rejected Poilievre’s framework for government spending, saying it “was the smart thing to do.” “I heard Mr. Poilievre talk about how much we’ve wasted on Canadians in the last two years. Let me be very clear. Being there for workers, families, seniors, youth, businesses — it was the right thing to do.”
NO COMPROMISE, NO NEW TAX INCREASE
After entering the room to huge applause, Poilevre delivered his first speech as party leader. “Canadians are hurting and it’s our job to turn that hurt into hope, and that’s my mission,” he said. He had similar words for Trudeau, citing a variety of tax increases as well as the national carbon price, which he says will lead to “higher grocery prices” and a greater burden on Canadians. He said he was “issuing a challenge to Justin Trudeau today.” “If you really understand the suffering of Canadians, Mr. Prime Minister, if you understand that people can’t put gas in their cars, feed their families, or afford homes for themselves, if you really care, pledge today that you will not there will be new tax increases on workers and the elderly. No one.” He criticized plans to raise the national price of coal, saying it “didn’t work”. Toward the end of his speech, he reiterated his rejection of tax increases, reframing his comments as “to the prime minister and his radical coalition with the NDP.” “Here’s my commitment,” he said. “We as Conservatives are always happy to work with any party to work together and expand and advance the interests of Canadians. We are. But there will be no compromise on this: the Conservatives will not support any new tax rises and we will fight tooth and nail to stop the coalition introducing any.”
