Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre is denying he ever spoke to a controversial German politician who recently claimed she spoke to him at least a “couple of times.”
Christine Anderson, a member of the European Parliament with the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AFD) or Alternative for Germany party, made the comments in a video posted to Twitter by the Western Standard media outlet.
In the video, Anderson is asked about her opinion of Poilievre, to which she responds, “I have spoken to him a couple of times, he seems to be a decent guy, and we need people that actually do think and go back to what democracy is all about and what elected representatives should do. It’s to be elected by the people and then represent and act in their best interests.”
Asked whether Poilievre has spoken to Anderson, Sebastian Skamski, director of media relations for the Opposition Leader’s Office, said in a statement, “Mr. Poilievre has never spoken to Christine Anderson, and any suggestion that he has is categorically false.”
CTVNews.ca has reached out to Anderson by email to clarify when she spoke to Poilievre or if she misspoke in her comments. A response has not been received.
Poilievre denounced Anderson last week after she met with three Conservative MPs during her recent tour of Canada in support of the “Freedom Convoy” movement.
Her tour included stops in Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Whitby, Ont.
The three Ontario MPs — Colin Carrie, Dean Allison and former Conservative leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis — were pictured with Anderson, a meeting the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it was “deeply concerned” about.
The centre specifically pointed to the German AFD party Anderson belongs to as being “known for Islamophobic and anti-immigrant views.”
Skamski, Poilievre’s spokesperson, said in a previous statement that the MPs were unaware of her “vile” views and said they regret meeting with her.
“Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here,” he said.
The three MPs, meanwhile, released their own statement saying it is not uncommon for MPs to meet visiting elected officials and denied being aware of Anderson’s views or those of her party.
Skamski did not respond to a question from CTVNews.ca asking if any action would be taken against the three MPs.
Responding to Poilievre, Anderson said in a video posted by the right-leaning media platform True North that she is “very sorry” he feels this way.
“All I can say: I had a lovely time meeting with the members of his party and at no point do I see where I expressed hateful and racist views, as he puts it,” she said.
Anderson added “no one gets to define me and not even Mr. Poilievre.”
“You do not get to define me. I know what I stand for, I know what I fight for and I know that I will never cater to any democratic leader or any elected government that does not act in the best interest of the people,” she said.
Asked about Anderson on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Canadians need to stop being treated like fools and the Conservatives need to own up and really dissociate themselves from hateful, vile, intolerant rhetoric, or tell the truth and explain that they actually have room for (that rhetoric) and intolerance within their party.”
Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, says the meeting with Anderson shows “poor judgment” as the Conservatives look to court moderate voters ahead of the next federal election and disassociate themselves from radical views.
“Many people in the party, many of their supporters, many who voted Conservative Party, do not endorse (Anderson’s) views,” she told CTV National News last weekend. “But that association has been a problem for the Conservatives in the past, and you would think they’d be doubly careful about associations that could revive those concerns.”
On Saturday, Lewis said she stands by her record of “defending immigrants, religious minorities and the vulnerable, not mocking and dividing them as the PM does.”
“The PM wore Blackface, denigrating Black people; throws minority women under the bus. Now he suggests I’m racist for meeting a sitting EU MP?” Lewis said in a post on Twitter.
Meanwhile, conservative strategist Jamie Ellerton says Poilievre should look into whether the MPs that met with Anderson should face consequences.
“Meeting at public events with far-right German politicians — that really undercuts the values pitch that Pierre Poilievre is making to voters. It makes it harder for every other single member in that caucus to do their job,” he told CTV National News last weekend.
“A prime minister who openly admires the Chinese basic dictatorship, who tramples on fundamental rights by persecuting and criminalizing his own citizens as terrorists just because they dared to stand up to his perverted concept of democracy, should not be allowed to speak in this house at all,” Anderson said.
During her tour, Anderson appeared with convoy organizer Tamara Lich and two of her lawyers. She also posed for a photo with the flag of Diagolon, an online protest movement considered by some to be an extremist group.
In a video posted to Twitter on Friday, People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier appeared with Anderson and called her an “honourary member” of the party.
With files from CTV National News Senior Political Correspondent Glen McGregor, CTV National News Ottawa Correspondent Judy Trinh, former CTVNews.ca Producer Sarah Turnbull and The Canadian Press.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
