Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday — and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
The unusually tense events saw Speaker Greg Fergus caution both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to rephrase their comments to avoid making direct accusations about the character of another MP.
Fergus issued a warning to Poilievre after he referred to Trudeau as “the guy who spent the first half of his adult life as a practising racist,” referring to photos that emerged during the 2019 election of Trudeau dressed in black and brown face.
Fergus warned Trudeau after he said Poilievre was “showing us exactly what shameful, spineless leadership looks like,” and accused him of shaking hands with “white nationalists.”
The tense back-and-forth came as Poilievre and the Conservatives were attacking the Liberals for having allowed British Columbia to allow the decriminalization of hard drugs like heroin and fentanyl in public places, which the provincial NDP government is now asking Health Canada to reverse.
The Conservatives argue the policy has caused great harm.
Trudeau ignored that issue completely, responding to each question about drugs by accusing Poilievre of associating with far-right extremists.
He said a person who does so is not fit to be prime minister.
He made the remarks after videos circulated online of Poilievre last week stopping at what protesters described as an anti-carbon price protest in Atlantic Canada.
The scene featured expletive-laden flags bearing Trudeau’s name.
At one point, videos show Poilievre exiting a trailer belonging to one of the protesters. Its exterior featured many images, including a symbol belonging to the far-right online group Diagolon.
The trouble in the House began to escalate when Fergus ejected Conservative MP Rachael Thomas after she said he was “acting in a disgraceful manner.”
The tense exchange continued after her departure, with Trudeau saying Poilievre is a “19-year” politician who made a choice to associate with that encampment.
“Any leader that needs the support of a far-right white nationalist group to fundraise and get closer to power does not deserve elected office,” the prime minister charged.
Poilievre said the prime minister’s words were only his “latest distraction” from his own “extremist policies.”
“When will we put an end to this wacko policy by this wacko prime minister?”
Fergus then drew the line.
“No, no,” he said. “That is not acceptable.”
He asked Poilievre to withdraw his comments, saying they were unparliamentary.
Poilievre didn’t withdraw, but said he would replace the word with “extremist,” which Fergus also rejected.
He then said he would replace it with “radical,” which Fergus did not accept either.
He asked the Conservative leader to “simply withdraw” the comment.
When Fergus asked Poilievre for a final time to take back his comment, the Conservative leader said, “I simply withdraw and replace with the aforementioned adjective.”
Fergus then ordered him to leave the chamber and not participate in further debate Tuesday, either in person or virtually.
Much of the Conservative caucus exited at the same time, and all of them eventually left before question period was over.
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon emerged from the House a few moments later, calling what had just unfolded a “disgrace.”
“It’s a disrespect for our institutions, a disrespect for the Speaker,” he said.
After leaving, Poilievre posted on X that Fergus “censored” him for calling Trudeau’s drug policies “wacko.” The Conservatives also launched a fundraiser off the incident within an hour of Poilievre’s ouster.
In a written statement, the Conservatives doubled down on the use of the word “wacko,” saying it’s been uttered in the House of Commons many times in the past without being considered unparliamentary.
The party said Fergus kicked Poilievre out to protect the prime minister.
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Per a quick Hansard publication search, it appears “wacko” has been used in the HoC on three occasions in the last decade.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said the incidents in the House showed evidence of a double standard and said Poilievre was speaking the truth.
“If you look at the definition of wacko, it is literally what the Liberal government is doing in terms of holding onto the policies of decriminalizing hard drugs like heroin and crack,” she said.
Conservative MP Arnold Viersen said watching Poilievre get ejected was upsetting.
“The Speaker is supposed to be a referee, not a participant,” he said.
Health Minister Mark Holland defended the Speaker’s call, saying Poilievre was removed because he refused to retract his language.
“When the Speaker, who is the adjudicator of rules in the House, asks for you to retract a comment, it’s important that you respect his office and that decision.”
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree also rejected the idea that Fergus treats Tories differently.
“He has called out members of the Liberal party, he’s called out members of the Conservative party; he even called out members of the other parties today,” he said.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet was clearly pleased by the events, thanking Fergus in French for showing “common sense” in the chamber.
Bloc MP Louis Plamondon, the longest-serving MP in the House having been elected in 1984, said Poilievre’s comment was “insulting.”
He said he has not seen a party leader ejected in 40 years on the Hill and doesn’t remember a party staging a mass walkout either.
The Liberals continued their attacks on Poilievre outside the chamber. Liberal MP Charles Sousa said it is noteworthy that the Conservative leader refused to answer questions about why he chose to associate with a group displaying symbols of the far-right Diagolon group.
“I think that speaks a lot about who he is and his character,” he said. “And I think that’s the real question today.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller ultimately dismissed the notion that Poilievre was being silenced by anyone.
“I think it would be good if he shut his yap once in a while,” he said.
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
