Pierre Poilievre has condemned the tariffs imposed on Canada by the United States, and called on the Liberals to recall parliament so legislation can be passed to combat them.
He made it clear, however, that the battle is with President Donald Trump, not the American people.
"We must put Canada first," Poilievre said during a press conference in Vancouver on Sunday, one day after the tariffs were signed into effect. "Conservatives condemn President Trump's massive, unjust, unjustified tariffs which will damage both American and Canadian economies."
He reiterated that Canada is the United States' "greatest friend, closest ally, and, most important, neighbour, making it clear "there is no justification whatsoever for these tariffs or this treatment."
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to trade with Canada. Poilievre pushed back on that assessment, pointing out that our neighbours to the south have a trade surplus when energy is excluded.
"When it is included the deal is even better for you because you buy our oil and our gas at massive price discounts," he added, "not because we're nice Canadians but because here at home we've made really dumb decisions to prevent us from exporting our energy to any other countries."
When asked by the Western Standard whether he saw a path forward for reasonable negotiation following yet another post on Truth Social in which Trump implied tariffs would only end if Canada became the 51st state, Poilievre noted that our relationship with the United States was far deeper than whoever happened to be president.
"Our friendship with the US is not based on any one politician," he said. "It is based on our centuries-long history of trade, of friendship, of common defence, of fighting on the battlefield, arms locked together against common enemies. We will continue to build that friendship with the people of the United States."
Poilievre emphasized that Canada would never capitulate to Trump and sign over our sovereignty.
Poilievre called on the Liberals to "put aside partisan interests and recall parliament," noting that if a bill was introduced by the party that he felt properly addressed the crisis, he would vote for it.