'Everything is broken in this country' Pierre Poilievre says, blaming PM Trudeau
Decrying high inflation and the rising cost of food, housing and fuel, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a rare media availability on Wednesday to declare: "it feels like everything is broken in this country right now."
Listing off "40-year high inflation," "35 year olds living in their parents' basements" and the "nearly 100 per cent increase in fuel prices," Poilievre placed the blame on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, while pitching a Conservative government as the solution.
Poilievre made these remarks while taking questions from reporters, inside a Vancouver supermarket on Wednesday.
The Conservative leader also pointed to the rates of addiction, crime and homelessness as other examples of what he views as the federal government's shortcomings, without mentioning factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic that have exacerbated overdose deaths, for example.
"So what are we going to do about it? We have to get the country back on track. My plan is to cap government spending and end the inflationary deficits so that we can bring inflation down," Poilievre said, proposing changes to federal policy which would only come into fruition should the Conservatives be elected following the next federal election, currently not scheduled to occur until 2025.
"It's time for us to take back control of our lives in this country, to fix what is broken, and that's what a Poilievre government would do," he said.
During last week's fall economic update, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defended her government's economic approach, saying that the government has pared down its planned new spending as to not exacerbate inflation, and while the risk of a recession is rising, the Liberals are also projecting a potential return to budget balance by 2027-28, after the next election.
"What we've been doing throughout is to strike a balance between necessary compassion and support for Canadians, and fiscal responsibility," Freeland said.
Wednesday's appearance was one of only a few times Poilievre has taken reporters' questions since he was elected as the official Opposition leader on Sept. 10, continuing the approach he had during the leadership race, to largely use social media to get his message out. Asked about the amount of questions he’s taken since taking on the top Conservative job, Poilievre defended his media strategy, saying he's spoken to journalists across the country.
"I think that part of the problem is that, you know, we're all too obsessed with Parliament Hill. We need to be out in the real world, to talk to real people on the ground, everyday people who are living their lives under the terrible policies of Justin Trudeau, who can't pay their bills, who see crime going wild on our streets, who can't get children's medicine in their local pharmacies," Poilievre said. "These are the stories of everyday Canadians. These are the stories that I want to share. These are the problems that I want to solve."
In the press conference, Poilievre also spoke about his concerns regarding foreign interference in Canadian elections, as well as federal-provincial jurisdictional tensions and divisions across the country that he also blames Trudeau for.
During a photo-op in Ottawa where Trudeau received a COVID-19 bivalent booster shot as well as a flu shot, he was asked to comment on whether he thought the results of Tuesday’s U.S. midterms were a repudiation of divisive politics, to which Trudeau said in part, “it's important that we stay focused on the things that matter for Canadians. Keeping them safe, making sure we're fighting inflation, making sure we're growing the economy.â€
Poilievre also told reporters on Wednesday that he stands by his support for the "peaceful, law-abiding" protesters that were part of the "Freedom Convoy" amid the mountain of testimony and evidence being heard at the Public Order Emergency Commission in connection to the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to bring what they felt were protests that threatened national security to an end.
"I think it's possible to support the overall cause—a personal free choice in vaccination, and the overall cause of respecting the truckers' ability to have to earn an income— while holding individually responsible anyone who behaved badly, broke laws, or blockaded key infrastructure. That was my position before, during, and now," he said.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP needs to decide whether 4 million Canadians deserve dental care: minister
Procurement Minister and newly appointed Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos is warning the NDP that the dental care program it helped put into place will be in jeopardy if it pulls its support from the governing Liberals.
Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up, according to new research
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
Building collapse in Naples leaves 2 siblings dead and mother and another woman trapped
A two-story building collapsed in the southern Italian province of Naples early Sunday, killing two young siblings and leaving their mother and an older woman trapped, firefighters said.
'Hubris and greed': Takeaways from the first week of U.S. Coast Guard inquiry into the Titan submersible disaster
More than a year after the Titan submersible imploded, killing all five voyagers on board, the story of the ill-fated expedition to the Titanic has taken the form of a modern-day Greek tragedy overflowing with mortal pride and heedlessness.
What is the U.S. Electoral College? America's path to the presidency, explained
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Marxist lawmaker Anura Dissanayake claims victory in Sri Lanka's presidential election
Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday claimed he had won Sri Lanka’s presidential election.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹´«Ã½ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, makes first public appearance after cancer treatment
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.