鶹ý

Skip to main content

Trudeau and Poilievre debate cost of living, point fingers over latest inflation rate increase

Share

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

Opinion

opinion

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

The City of Calgary ended water restrictions for the city at a Sunday morning update.

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.

Stay Connected