Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is flanked by Minister of Housing Sean Fraser, right, and Treasury Board President Anita Anand, left, during a press conference in Oakville, Ont., on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes the government's federal budget. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government’s federal budget.
Polls suggest the Liberal messaging on the budget has yet to resonate – but Trudeau says it’s more of a plan than what Poilievre has put forward, other than trying to exploit public anxieties.
Trudeau was asked about Poilievre’s appearance alongside anti-carbon price activists waving expletive-laden flags bearing the prime minister’s name.
He says every leader has to decide how they are going to operate – and that his Conservative rival has welcomed the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists.
He pointed out that Poilievre has done nothing to reject the endorsement of notorious right-wing commentator Alex Jones.
Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion in damages to the families of the victims of the deadly 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, which he long portrayed as a hoax.
“This is the kind of man who’s saying Pierre Poilievre has the right ideas to bring the country towards the right, towards conspiracy theories, towards extremism, towards polarization,” Trudeau said.
“The fact that he continues to encourage the kind of divisive approaches to Canada that I don’t think Canadians want to see really shows that he will do anything to win, anything to torque up negativity and fear.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.
