(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused his rival Pierre Poilievre of exploiting Canadians' vulnerability in these difficult times to pull the Conservative Party even further to the right. He reminded his MPs meeting in the caucus on Thursday that the Liberals' strength lies in empowering the middle class and those who seek to join it.
Posted at 3:56 p.m.
“Pierre Poilievre is working to move his party further to the right, while we work to meet Canadians where they are, where they need us for them,” he said. declared in a speech to the Liberal caucus on Thursday in advance of the resumption of parliamentary work on January 29th.
He acknowledged that inflation and extending mortgages at high interest rates are a concern for many people.
Canadians are worried. They want solutions. Unfortunately, there are politicians who only want to use this concern to increase anger for their own benefit.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
“Our job is to strengthen the middle class and support those who work hard to join it,” he added, returning to the mantra of the Liberals’ first term in 2015. “We have focused on this for eight years.” We will continue to do so and in fact this is how we have overcome the extraordinary turbulence of the last few years. »
The prime minister did not directly mention criticism of his leadership by Newfoundland MP Ken McDonald, who said the day before on Radio-Canada that the Liberals and their leader had “reached their expiration date” and that it was time for a vote of confidence.
He later qualified his remarks by stating in writing that it was not his intention to “personally call for a leadership review.”
The MPs who agreed to speak to journalists rallied behind their leader.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
The Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos
“We know that the work of all MPs and especially some MPs is difficult in the current context,” admitted Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. People find life expensive. They are afraid of the future. »
“I sense no disagreement, no loss of confidence in Mr. Trudeau, who is doing solid work under difficult national and international conditions,” he added.
The Prime Minister stressed that the Liberal Party's strength is in facilitating “difficult conversations” about policy to support people. “And anyone who calls it a weakness doesn’t understand Canada,” he added. As an example, he cited the differences within the faction over the war between Israel and Hamas.
He repeatedly attacked conservatives who voted against modernizing the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement “to appease Putin apologists like Tucker Carlson.” The right-wing American host was in Calgary, Alberta the day before as part of his Make America Great Again tour.
Mr. Trudeau recalled that his government's support for Ukraine is aimed not only at supporting this people fighting for their sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also at fighting for democratic values and the international order based on the rules in force since then to protect World War II.