While advocating for more civility in politics, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also called on elected officials on Friday to explore why Canadians are feeling so angry in the current political climate.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Poilievre addressed a recent article by Erin O’Toole published on the publisher’s website Sub-stackin which the former Conservative leader called the “F*** Trudeau” flags “the very antithesis of what it means to be a Conservative.”
Poilievre responded to the blog post saying he doesn’t like flags.
“But I think we have to ask ourselves why are people so angry? Like, why are people so angry? And the answer is that they are in pain,” he said.
“You know, it’s easy for the political establishment to say, ‘Stop complaining.’ But when you’re part of 1.5 million people who went to a food bank in March, it’s not that easy. »
Poilievre went on to refer to a case at the Mississauga food bank in Ontario, where a customer asked about medical assistance in dying because of the poverty in which they lived.
He also highlighted the cost of home ownership and opioid addiction as other examples of how Canadians are struggling, adding that in his nearly two decades in politics, he has “never seen so much suffering and so much pain and suffering in our people.”
“Of course, let’s tell people to be more civil. But as political leaders, let’s actually try to address the issues that have upset and angered and hurt people,” Poilievre said. “It’s our job to turn this hurt into hope, to turn it into something better.”
In the article, which he published on Thursday, O’Toole called the “proliferation” of political displays such as “F*** Trudeau” flags “a sign that we are slowly becoming desensitized to political stunts and the aggressive rhetoric, whether from the left or the right.”
“In fact, the extremes seem to be playing against each other as they frame the debate around the motivations of political leaders. The far left claimed (former Prime Minister) Stephen Harper was destroying Canada and the far right claimed (the prime minister) Justin Trudeau is a traitor,” says O’Toole.
“These radical positions may seem outlandish to the majority of Canadians, but unfortunately, extreme views are more amplified and often drown out more moderate views.”
O’Toole, MP for Durham, Ont., resigned as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in February after a majority of his caucus voted to impeach him.
Under O’Toole, the Conservatives won the most votes in the Federal Election 2021 but did not win the majority of the seats, with a net loss of two constituencies. The Liberals would form a minority government.
O’Toole’s removal as leader came amid the truck convoy rally in Ottawa that has seen weeks of protests over vaccination mandates and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CTV News reported days after O’Toole’s resignation that interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen previously pushed him to support the protests. O’Toole met truckers heading to Ottawa in at the end of January.
Poilievre won the Conservative leadership in September.
With files from Rachel Aiello, CTVNews.ca Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter, Sarah Turnbull, Former CTVNews.ca Producer, and Glen McGregor, CTV National News Senior Political Correspondent
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