On Tuesday, Trudeau told the opposition leaders to man up and fly in formation. I think the message was received loud and clear:
...Trudeau met with opposition leaders in his office on Parliament Hill on Tuesday to brief them on the situation as it stands now.An official in Trudeau’s office said during the meeting Trudeau stressed the importance of not negotiating against Canada in public, and asked party leaders to state repeatedly and publicly that tariffs will raise the cost of living on both sides of the border.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who attended the meeting, said at an afternoon news conference that unity is key among premiers and federal party leaders, because successfully beating back the tariffs is “not going to happen by accident.”“All of us should be putting country before party,” she said.... “If that tone that was used in that type of meeting could show up in Parliament, people would have more confidence in us and take us more seriously,” Blanchet told reporters......Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre emerged from the meeting appearing to heed Trudeau’s call to stress the impact the tariffs could have on the U.S. economy.“It should be obvious and easy to make these arguments to the Americans, because they would be doing enormous damage to their own economy,” Poilievre told reporters.But he was also highly critical of Trudeau for enacting policies that Poilievre said put Canada into the position it is in now. He said his demands are for Trudeau to fix the “disorder” at the border and the immigration system, as well as reverse economic damages he says were caused by the carbon price and an emissions cap on oil and gas production.Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said Trudeau told the party leaders that it would be helpful if they “didn’t amplify the kind of messaging and language that the Trump administration is using to attack Canada.”“When you sit around a table, there’s the sense that we’re all here with a shared view and goals that we share as Canadians,” May told reporters. “That said, there were differences in responses as we went around afterwards how much we were willing to say ‘yes, we will do whatever we can as opposition party leaders to avoid giving the Trump administration any sound bites that sound like Canadians agree with Trump.’” ...
At least Poilievre tried to keep with the program, though he couldn't resist doing some sloganeering either:
He always struggles to "speak to the moment."
— dfrntdrmmr (@dfrntdrmmr) December 1, 2024
The only thing that makes him even more uncomfortable is if a female reporter asks him an unscripted question.
"Trudeau responded by saying he believes Poilievre “needs to reflect carefully on whether he really wants to amplify the erroneous narratives,” which he says Americans are advancing when it comes to issues surrounding the border." https://t.co/eYgISPyrc0
— TinyDancer 🇨🇦 (@MaroonWendi) December 4, 2024
