Trudeau and Poilievre debate cost of living, point fingers over latest inflation rate increase
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government is doing “everything it can” to help Canadians get through the “difficult” current economic period after Canada’s inflation rate increased to four per cent last month, once again sparking debate over the issue in the House of Commons Tuesday.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have been pointing fingers at the Liberals for August’s inflation numbers, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre laying the blame for the increase at the feet of the government and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh calling the Liberal plan to address rising grocery prices “frankly ridiculous.”
“Not only is inflation up, it is rising, and rising faster,” Poilievre said Tuesday. “Inflation in Canada, after eight years of Justin Trudeau, is not only high, but it is broad.”
“It is across all different products and services,” he added. “Whether you include or exclude food and gas, inflation is now double its target.”
Poilievre also criticized Freeland for asking “everyone to give her a pat on the back” in July when inflation numbers started to dip and called the now increasing numbers “entirely made in Canada” due to Liberal government spending.
August’s inflation numbers are the second consecutive monthly increase. The jumps come after Freeland called the inflation rate dropping to 2.8 per cent in June a “milestone moment” that Canadians should find some relief in.
Inflation and the cost of living also remained a focus of debate in the House of Commons on the second day of the fall sitting of Parliament Tuesday, with the prime minister going back and forth with Singh and Poilievre as the politicians debated who’s to blame.
Both Trudeau and Freeland pointed to recently announced measures to help tackle the affordability crisis, including removing the GST on the construction of new rental apartments in a bid to build faster and reduce housing costs and calling on the heads of the country’s largest grocery stores to come up with a plan to “stabilize” prices.
“We will continue to be here for Canadians, all while managing our finances responsibly,” Trudeau said in French.
“The Leader of the Opposition continues to talk down Canadians and talk down the Canadian economy and say that everything is broken,” he added. “We're getting to work (on) helping Canadians through this difficult time.”
Meanwhile, Singh — who has been calling on the CEOs of Canada’s largest grocery chains to reduce their profit margins since last winter — said the Liberals’ plan to “stabilize” grocery prices is “ridiculous” and “a failure of leadership.”
“Canadians have been struggling with food prices for almost two years now and here's the classic Liberal response,” Singh said during question period Tuesday. “They asked the CEOs of the big grocery stores to come to Ottawa to nicely ask them to stabilize the prices, not to bring them down, to stabilize them.”
With files from 鶹ý’ Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello
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.
2 suspended from U.S. college swim team after report of slur scratched onto student's body
At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body, officials said.
The City of Calgary ended water restrictions for the city at a Sunday morning update.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year 鶹ý 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.
'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.
Trump's goal of mass deportations fell short. But he has new plans for a second term
Donald Trump has long pledged to deport millions of people, but he's bringing more specifics to his current bid for the White House: invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military.
A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.
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.