THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET

Trudeau and Poilievre attack each other in duelling speeches. We break down their war of words

Duelling speeches from the leaders of the governing and official opposition parties made it crystal clear Friday how each intend to attack the other when federal lawmakers head back to Parliament next week. Here’s a comparative look at how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre threw down their gauntlets in speeches to their caucuses in Ottawa:

Tone and mood

It’s game on.

Poilievre was sharp-edged and energetic, dropping the honorific “Prime Minister” and hammering “Justin” for everything from high gas and grocery prices, high interest rates, high housing costs, high crime, and airport travel chaos.

Trudeau later deliberately adopted a low-key, low-volume voice that aimed for a statesmanlike vibe, addressing his opponent as “Mr. Poilievre.” Still, his quiet podium persona was just as partisan and elbows-up as his Conservative rival.

The mood in both caucus rooms was, predictably, enthusiastic, with applause for shots across the parliamentary divide.

Poilievre, alleging Trudeau is shirking responsibility for the myriad problems in the country, said: “If you can’t do anything about it, then why don’t you get out of the way and let someone lead who can?”

Trudeau dissed Poilievre by alleging that while the Liberals were focused on Canada’s economic future, “Mr. Poilievre was out talking about how we should all invest in bitcoin to opt out of inflation after he watched videos on YouTube.”

Economic power plays

Trudeau hyped his long-term “green” economic agenda to boost electric vehicle and critical mineral supply chains. The prime minister vowed to “meet this moment” to help individual families who are struggling with bills and mortgages, and didn’t miss the chance to tout child-care deals with provinces that last year cut daycare fees for parents in half, saying that’s helped many families weather inflationary pressures on their household budgets.

Poilievre built his political brand on undercutting the Liberals’ economic assumptions and goals, but there was little mention of the topic Friday that’s helped drive that messaging in recent months: inflation. Instead, he focused on other policy implications of a Liberal government, while reiterating a promise to cap government spending, fire high-priced government consultants, and cancel the carbon tax.

Ordinary Canadians as props

Both men spent part of the winter recess on the road, meeting formally and informally with Canadians who became narrative tools to contrast their approaches Friday.

Poilievre suggested Trudeau only has the ear of loyalists and consultants, and is deaf to the pain and suffering of real Canadians, sharing telling tales of a cook in his 60s at an Ottawa grocery who said with “tears in his eyes … he has to delay his retirement” and couldn’t afford the ingredients at home that he used at work; an elderly woman who can’t afford to heat her home; and students living in homeless shelters because they can’t afford rent.

Trudeau played that game, too. Fresh off a tour to highlight government investment in made-in-Canada electric vehicles and critical minerals developments, the prime minister told tales of “skilled, ambitious” Canadians like two autoworkers at Windsor’s Stellantis plant who are building hybrid cars and “proud of what they do, powering the economy of today and tomorrow.” He highlighted his intention to spend more to reform health care, riffing off the concerns of Catherine, an ER nurse in New Brunswick, and Monique, a Quebec woman waiting for a knee replacement to say money alone is not the answer.

Fear and loathing

The stories of everyday Canadians aside, each man blamed the other for pitting the country along certain lines.

Poilievre’s latest rhetorical flourish is that everything in Canada feels broken, and he emphasized that on the issue of crime, saying it now “rages out of control.” He said Trudeau is the source of polarization and division in Canada.

“We know what you will do this session of Parliament. You will divide to distract. You’ll try to make people afraid of each other because you think that if an average Canadian is afraid of his neighbour, he’ll forget that he can’t feed himself or pay the rent.”

Trudeau shot back, casting Poilievre as having made “a deliberate choice” to twist facts or amplify misinformation, and cast the Conservatives as a party that doesn’t rely on facts and science, denies the need to tackle climate change or the legacy of residential school trauma, and inflames divisions.

“There are politicians like Mr. Poilievre who have no real solutions to offer and who just try to exploit the anger and concerns that people do have. The Liberal vision for the future could not be more different than Mr. Poilievre’s version.”

Hope, sunny ways, and better is always possible, version 3.0

Trudeau pushed back on Poilievre’s characterization of Canada as a broken country, and stressed the need to meet the “pivotal” challenges of the decade, as Canadians did in past wars, economic crises, and in the pandemic.

“We, all of us, we must be ready to meet this moment,” he said, a new slogan almost certain to reappear in the coming months.

The prime minister urged people to remember the early days when COVID-19 challenged the country, and Canadians stepped up, “when people were making noise and honking in support of our frontline health workers, not against.”

He said his government will continue to tackle climate change and Indigenous reconciliation, saying, “This is what our positive vision for the future is all about: good jobs for the middle class, safe communities with clean air where families and workers are supported and where everyone has a real and fair chance at success. An economy that works for all Canadians.”

Poilievre sounded an optimistic note, too, casting back to his parents who said it doesn’t matters where he came from, it only mattered where he was going.

“We will restore the hope that Justin Trudeau and his government have destroyed over the last eight years. We will once again make this a country where hard work pays off, where people keep more of every dollar they earn so they can get ahead.”

A deal with the NDP has secured support for Trudeau’s minority government until June 2025. But that hasn’t stopped speculation about how long it can really last, given most survive less than two years, and Trudeau’s is now headed into its 16th month

Electioneering

A deal with federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (who pumped his caucus up last week) has secured — on paper — support for the minority government led by Trudeau until June 2025. But that hasn’t stopped speculation about how long it can really last, given most minority governments survive less than two years, and Trudeau’s is now headed into its 16th month.

Poilievre, who’s been hankering to replace Trudeau for years, seemed keen to bring down the Liberal government as soon as possible. “Now ladies and gentlemen, let’s get to work, let’s bring it home.”

Trudeau cautioned his MPs to stay campaign-ready, with a senior government official saying, “You’re all working the ground hard to get yourselves nominated once again, because we’re in a minority Parliament, and we need to be ready for anything.”