Federal Conservative leader makes quick stop in city to slam Trudeau government

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This article was published 12/01/2024 (612 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre again vowed to scrap the federal carbon tax while speaking in Winnipeg Friday.

The stop on his “Axe the tax” campaign was at the Gardewine trucking transport company’s Eagle Drive location in northwest Winnipeg.

On a cold day in Winnipeg, and with two transport trucks as a backdrop, Poilievre said the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to blame for higher heating and food costs. He specifically criticized Winnipeg’s Liberal MPs for voting against a Conservative motion to expand the carbon tax exemption.

“They voted to raise your taxes, and as the temperature goes down and your home heating bill goes up, remember that your local Winnipeg Liberal MP voted to tax your home heat,” Poilievre said.

“When you walk outside and you shiver in this Prairie cold, remember that Justin Trudeau, and the NDP, want to quadruple the carbon tax. They want to raise it up to 61 cents a litre, as well as raising taxes on your heat.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said in November that the carbon tax would cost the average Manitoba household $386, after factoring in rebates, in 2023.

Gesturing at the semi-trailer cabs behind him, Poilievre said the carbon tax is also to blame for the increased cost of food.

“These are trucks that require diesel. The carbon tax goes on that diesel. So, everything transported in these trucks becomes more expensive because of the Trudeau tax on carbon and on diesel,” he said.

The Tory leader also took aim at the Liberal government’s prohibition on certain types of firearms.

“Justin Trudeau wants to protect turkeys from hunters,” he said. “I want to protect Canadians from criminals.”

Poilievre was later asked whether a Conservative government would support a search of landfills for the remains of two slain Indigenous women. City police believe the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris were the victims of a suspected serial killer and are buried in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.

“We think that every effort needs to be made to find the remains of murdered and missing Indigenous women and to protect Indigenous women from future violence,” Poilievre said. “We also want criminal justice reforms that will ensure that First Nations and Indigenous people are safe and protected, just as all Canadians are, so we never have tragedies like this again.”

Poilievre also visited Red River College Polytechnic and industrial construction company ServcoCanada in the Rural Municipality of Springfield while in the Winnipeg area.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca