Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre Monday morning responded to Chrystia Freeland’s resignation from finance minister with an appeal to Canadians — singling out Liberal voters.
Poilievre further accused the NDP-Liberal coalition for the "hell" they're causing Canadians at Christmastime.
Chrystia Freeland resigned as finance minister and deputy prime minister earlier Monday morning. She will remain in the Liberal caucus and plans to run again in the next election. Sean Fraser an hour later resigned as housing minister. He will not run for re-election.
Freeland was scheduled to present the Fall Economic Update and annual financial reports on Monday. That is temporarily on-hold. The last day MPs will sit in the House of Commons before the winter break is Tuesday.
“Canadians are already worried about the $40 billion represented by the deficit. We're about to learn that the deficit was, in fact, much higher,” said Poilievre at a press conference Monday.
“That update, by the way, is currently covered by a black blanket underneath the table. No one is allowed to look at it, even though journalists and parliamentarians showed up to read it in briefing rooms to this day, earlier today. So here we are. Everything is spiraling out of control.”
Poilievre told reporters 80% of Canadians “have lost confidence in this prime minister.”
“(Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau is being held in office by one man, (NDP leader) Jagmeet Singh,” said Poilievre.
“A fifth of liberal MPs have written a letter for (Trudeau) to resign. His finance minister has walked out on him, his housing minister has quit. That on top of numerous other female ministers who stormed out after his appalling mistreatment, abuse and dishonesty, towards them.”
“So why is Jagmeet Singh making the entire country wait for him to get his pension? That is the question today to patriotic Liberals across the country.”
“My message is this, you supported this government in good faith because you thought it was the right thing for the country. And you are good and decent, patriotic people who have been let down by a prime minister and his top adviser, (Mark) Carney, who have betrayed Freeland.”
“And you, Carney and Trudeau, the back room boys, have taken the Liberal party away from anything it used to stand for.”
“What I'm calling for is, let's bring home the common sense consensus of Liberals who believed in liberty and Conservatives who believe in conserving it.”
“Fiscal responsibility, compassion for our neighbors. These are the shared common values that will bind up our nation's wounds and bring us back together. Now is the time okay.”
“I put it in the hands of the people. I know that they will make the right decision.”
Poilievre during the press conference discussed the Trudeau Liberals' “out of control” track record, including doubling the cost of housing, rampant crime, 500,000 illegal immigrants and legalized hard drugs in the streets.
"Canadians Christmas holidays are being interrupted by the NDP-Liberal hell they're living in. Parents are tossing and turning at night because we have the most indebted households by far in the G7. That's the real hell that is interrupting people's Christmas spirit right now," he said.
“Justin Trudeau has lost control, but he’s hanging onto power."
“All this chaos, all this division, all this weakness, is happening as our largest neighbor and closest ally is imposing 25% tariffs under a recently elected Trump with a strong mandate,” he added.
“What we are seeing is the government of Canada spiraling out of control before our eyes.”
Singh also commented on Freeland’s resignation on Monday, emphasizing the Liberals’ “obsession with infighting” and what he calls Poilievre’s “gleeful” anticipation of the prime minister’s “death spiral.”
“The withering resignation of Trudeau’s right-hand minister shows just how deeply this Liberal government’s members are obsessed with infighting, and ignoring the urgent challenges everyday Canadians are coping with,” wrote Singh in a statement posted by the NDP.
“While the Liberals fight with each other, I believe we should be fighting for Canadian jobs at risk from Donald Trump’s tariffs. While Trudeau obsesses over his own drama, I believe we should be focused on the cost of homes and groceries that are burning up people’s paycheques and dimming hope.”
“We’ll take no lessons from Pierre Poilievre, who gleefully licks his chops at Trudeau’s death spiral and Trump’s threats."