Pierre Poilierble is trying to distance himself from Donald Trump as a threat to the US president to Canadian fuel.
Canadian Conservative leaders seized Donald Trump’s remarks on the Canadian election to distance himself from the US president amid a slump in vote counts.
In an interview with Fox News this week, Trump didn’t care who won the federal election in Canada, but said he would “deal with more liberals than conservatives.”
On Wednesday, Pierre Polyeive said the US president, whose tariffs and annexation threats on Canada have effectively approved new Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party, whose anger has fostered widespread outrage in recent months.
“The president yesterday said having a liberal prime minister would be easy for him to deal with, just as he threatened us to make us the 51st province again,” Poilliebre told reporters in Sudbury, Ontario.
“In that respect, that’s true. I’m a strong leader and a hard-to-handle person. I’m stuck to my beliefs and always put Canada first.”
Poilliebre and his Conservatives have seen polls run away from what once seemed an insurmountable lead from the beginning of the year.
Experts say imposing sudden sanctions on the country, coupled with Trump’s repeated threats to annexation into Canada and Justin Trudeau’s exit as liberal leader and prime minister, is a major factor in Tories’ decline.
Recent polls have shown that the Liberal Party has surged ahead of conservatives ahead of the federal election, which must take place by October 20th, but is expected to happen sooner.
Poilliebre, a politician known for Trudeau’s inflammatory rhetoric and slander, struggles to find a solid message in the face of Trump.
Daniel Beland, a professor of political science at McGill University, told Al Jazeera last month that Poillievre was facing a challenge.
Meanwhile, Poilierbre’s militant political style draws comparisons with Trump, raising questions about how the Conservatives will treat the US president if he wins the next election and becomes prime minister.
Poilliebre, who took over as party leader in 2022, regularly describes Canada as a “broken” country under Trudeau. He also attacks reporters as biased, and critics say it often reflects far-right talk points on immigration and other issues.
Among Trump’s recent threats, Poilierbre used the slogan “Canada First.” This is similar to the US President’s own “America First” policy.
An Angus Reed Institute poll released Monday found that 55% of Canadians believed that Kearney was the best place to handle the US trade war, compared to 30% who preferred Polyeble.
“Frankly, 41% now think that Carney is the best prime minister compared to 29% of PolyAble,” the voting investigation company said.
Faced with that public sentiment, Poilierbre continues to try to position himself as the best choice to handle the Trump administration.
“Giving the Liberal Party a fourth term will only weaken our country and strengthen Donald Trump,” he told reporters Wednesday.
“We need a strong, tough leader who will unlock resources, cut taxes and red tape, build homes, and not rely on Americans to make Canada your number one priority.”
Trump also appeared to separate himself from Poliefle in an interview with Fox News. “The running conservatives are stupidly not my friend,” Trump said.
“I don’t know him, but he said something negative. When he says something negative, I couldn’t care much. I think it’s actually easier to deal with liberals.
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