Investing.com -- Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sharply criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney today, accusing him of dishonesty regarding U.S. President Trump’s contentious "51st state" comment during a March phone call. Citing a Radio-Canada report detailing Trump’s remark, Poilievre seized the controversy as a window to question Carney’s credibility on domestic issues.
"Yesterday, Mark Carney was caught lying," Poilievre told supporters, referencing Carney’s earlier assertion that Trump respected Canada’s sovereignty during their conversation. "If he’s lying about that, you can be sure he’s lying about inflation, lying about Liberal tax increases, lying about the Liberal housing crisis."
Carney acknowledged yesterday that Trump did indeed make the controversial statement but insisted the U.S. president still respected Canadian autonomy and emphasized the productive "outcome" of their call. "We cannot trust anything he says," Poilievre countered, using the opportunity to further question Carney’s reliability.
While Carney’s election campaign has frequently focused on confronting Trump and emphasizing cross-border differences, Poilievre has largely steered clear of directly addressing the American president. Instead, he consistently underscores domestic affordability, economic self-reliance and strengthening Canadian security.
"We need to take direct action to end the tariff chaos from a position of strength," Poilievre said when asked how he’d handle relations with Trump differently. He added that Carney exaggerated the importance of his phone conversations with Trump, reiterating Conservative plans for Canada to become more "self-reliant, strong and sovereign."
Poilievre promised to expedite approvals of pipelines, mines, LNG terminals, nuclear energy projects and other export-focused infrastructure. Such moves, he argued, would provide broader international market access and reduce Canada’s vulnerability to external pressures.
In remarks made in French, he also committed to dismantling internal trade barriers among provinces and vowed significant tax cuts aimed at energizing domestic investment, manufacturing and home construction. "We will be strong as a country and focus on what we can control here in Canada," Poilievre declared, framing his economic plan as a bold return to national self-determination.
Additionally, Poilievre proposed cancelling MPs’ summer break, framing it as necessary to address pressing economic and security issues promptly. He argued lawmakers should work straight through summer instead of taking extended recesses while Canadians face affordability challenges.