Trudeau says Poilievre unable to unite to defend Canada against Trump

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of being unhelpful in his criticisms when it comes to dealing with the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Trudeau said there’s a long-standing tradition that when the nation comes under threat in some way, Canadians pull together to defend their country.

But it’s “increasingly clear” Poilievre is unable to do that, Trudeau told reporters on the way into question period Wednesday.

This comes just a day after Trudeau held a rare meeting with other party leaders to brief them on his recent, surprise visit with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday and the government’s plan to beef up border security.

Following that meeting, Poilievre said Trudeau had lost control of crucial government files, like the budget and the border, and put Canada in a weak position. Trudeau brought up this line of attack again in question period, saying Poilievre “can’t help himself” from playing politics amid Trump’s tariff threats.

Poilievre responded by saying Trudeau is driving Canadian jobs south with the planned increase of the carbon tax this spring.

“You can just imagine the president in the Oval Office, calling our businesses to say ‘Hey, I saw that you have a quadrupling carbon tax north of the border. Why not come south of the border, where there’s no carbon tax and other taxes are falling,’” Poilievre said.

Following the meeting of party leaders Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Trudeau said the prime minister asked the other leaders not to negotiate against Canada in public by saying things like the border is broken. He also asked them to amplify the message that Trump’s threatened tariffs will harm the American economy too.

Poilievre emerged from the meeting stressing that latter point, but also said the Trudeau government has “broken” the border. On Wednesday Poilievre said the government is the cause of “disorder” at the border this morning.

President-elect Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff threat includes a demand that both Canada and Mexico stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking at their respective borders.

Poilievre told reporters Tuesday after the briefing it should be “obvious and easy to make these arguments to the Americans” against the tariffs because such a move would injure their own economy in the process.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet had described the tone of the briefing as cordial and constructive.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said on Tuesday that Canada will bolster its border security in time for Trump’s inauguration.

On Friday, LeBlanc, Trudeau and senior officials flew to Florida to dine with Trump and some of his cabinet nominees at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump has been holding court. They informally discussed trade and border security.

LeBlanc downplayed a suggestion by Trump at that dinner that he might make Canada the 51st state. LeBlanc said the president-elect was clearly joking and teasing the Canadian entourage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.

Kyle Duggan and David Baxter, The Canadian Press