Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre sharply criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney’s handling of trade negotiations with the United States, rising living costs, and public safety, while outlining his party’s priorities.Poilievre said the Conservatives' focus this fall will be on “stronger take-home pay through lower taxes and inflation, safer streets by locking up criminals, secure borders with reduced immigration, and a sovereign Canada that can stand on its own two feet.” He also called for measures to make housing more affordable for young Canadians and improve living conditions for seniors.A significant portion of the remarks targeted Carney’s recent trade decisions, including the removal of Canadian tariffs on US goods covered under CUSMA. The opposition leader accused Carney of making “generous concessions” to US President Donald Trump without securing reciprocal benefits for Canadian industry.“He promised during the campaign he would put elbows up and negotiate a win,” the Conservative leader said. “Instead, American tariffs are twice as high on Canada today as when he took office.” He alleged Carney failed to meet his own pledge of securing a deal by July 21 and criticized his decision to scale back on dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation, the digital services tax, and other policies."Today we learn that it has even yet another capitulation and climb down by Mark Carney, his elbows have mysteriously gone missing, and this call follows on other concessions. He promised during the campaign he would have dollar for dollar retaliation," Poilievre said..This press conference followed an announcement by Mark Carney earlier on Friday that Canada would be dropping tariffs on American goods covered by CUSMA.According to Carney, the change will restore tariff-free trade for the vast majority of goods between the two countries. Tariffs will remain in place on steel, aluminum and autos as discussions continue on those sectors.During the press conference, the Conservative leader promoted the “Canadian Sovereignty Act,” which he said would streamline approvals for major projects such as pipelines, ports, and resource development. He invited Carney to adopt the legislation, even offering to share the policy with the government. .Beyond trade, he faulted Carney’s government for what he described as rising crime, high immigration levels, and a worsening housing crisis. He pointed to a lack of progress on homebuilding targets, increased federal spending, and what he called a “record net outflow of investment.”He also criticized the government’s industrial carbon tax, arguing it exacerbates the impact of US tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Instead, he called for eliminating the carbon tax entirely.Despite the criticism, the Conservative leader said his party remains willing to work with Carney and other parties on shared goals, such as reducing the cost of living and securing better trade terms with the US. “Our country is worth fighting for and worth working together for,” he said. “Let’s get to work this fall.”
