The National Citizens Coalition is accusing the Liberal Party of using public funds to test-drive a fear-based election strategy months before U.S. tariffs were even announced. The group says newly revealed documents show the party orchestrated its “elbows up” messaging using Privy Council-funded polling and focus groups, in what it calls a partisan re-election tactic disguised as government outreach.“This was not leadership. It was political opportunism at its worst,” said Peter Coleman, president of the NCC, in a statement Monday.The allegations stem from reporting by Blacklock’s Reporter. According to the group, the focus group work occurred at the same time as a “hot mic” incident involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when he appeared to preview the tone of the Liberals' current campaign to business leaders and journalists.Coleman called the campaign, which promotes a combative posture in international trade negotiations, a deliberate attempt to stoke public anxiety. “Young Canadians, working Canadians, common-sense Canadians, they desperately needed change, and they all see through the Liberal Party’s manipulative tactics,” he said.The NCC is demanding the government release all records relating to the focus group research, including funding sources, timelines, and any ties to the Prime Minister’s Office. The group also criticized what it calls the misuse of taxpayer money to manufacture political crises.“The trust and goodwill the Carney Liberals have been receiving from subsidized media and short-sighted supporters, it should be earned,” Coleman said. “The honeymoon is over.”The Liberal Party has not responded to the allegations.
