Poilievre’s Trump-north routine reckless, dishonest and disgraceful political theatre

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre knows exactly what he’s doing when he tells Canadians that former prime minister Justin Trudeau should have been jailed for past ethics violations.

It’s not a slip of the tongue or an off-the-cuff remark made in the heat of an interview. It’s a calculated piece of political theatre imported straight from the playbook of U.S. President Donald Trump. And it’s as dishonest as it is corrosive to Canada’s political culture.

In a recent interview, Poilievre claimed Trudeau would have faced criminal charges “if the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for him.”

The Conservative leader was referring to the former prime minister’s breaches of ethics rules — including his 2016 family vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island and the SNC-Lavalin affair in 2019, in which the ethics commissioner found Trudeau improperly pressured then-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in a criminal prosecution.

Let’s be clear: Trudeau’s behaviour in those cases was serious. It crossed ethical lines. And it demonstrated an appalling lack of respect for the independence of Canada’s judiciary. But what it didn’t do was meet the threshold for criminal wrongdoing.

Poilievre knows that. Every serious legal expert in the country knows that. And the RCMP certainly knows that, which is why it never laid charges.

So why is the leader of the Opposition suggesting that Trudeau should have been put in handcuffs and marched off to jail?

Because he believes that kind of inflammatory rhetoric might win him some votes. He’s wrong, of course, yet he can’t seem to abandon the Trump-like brand of politics that probably cost him the last federal election. He seems addicted to it.

The Aga Khan trip was a bad and unethical decision by a newly elected prime minister who should have known better. Trudeau accepted a luxury vacation from someone whose foundation received federal funding. It was an obvious conflict of interest.

The SNC-Lavalin affair was more troubling. Trudeau and senior staff engaged in sustained pressure on the attorney general to secure a deferred prosecution agreement for a politically connected Quebec-based corporation. It was an egregious breach of ethical norms and a serious attempt to politically interfere in the justice system.

Trudeau’s conduct was wrong. It undermined public confidence in the independence of the justice system. It was the most damaging political scandal of his tenure.

But there was no criminal offence. No criminal law was broken. And after careful review, the RCMP concluded criminal charges were not warranted.

Poilievre knows that. Yet he tells Canadians the only reason Trudeau wasn’t jailed is because police were covering up for him.

That’s a reckless accusation to make against the national police force. It suggests Canada’s institutions — the RCMP, the legal system — were engaged in a conspiracy to protect a prime minister. It’s the kind of baseless accusation that erodes trust in the rule of law.

Coming from someone who wants to become prime minister, it’s dangerous.

In Canada, we don’t treat political opponents as criminals for losing their way ethically. And we don’t ask police to do the work that voters and Parliament are responsible for.

Poilievre appears to have missed that lesson.

He has spent the past few years fuelling anger and resentment on the campaign circuit, often bending the truth to do it. He rails against “gatekeepers,” suggests the CBC is a Liberal propaganda arm and claims Canada is broken beyond repair.

He has built a narrative that the country is controlled by corrupt elites who are out to get ordinary Canadians. And within that storyline, Trudeau becomes Public Enemy No. 1 — a corrupt criminal who should be jailed.

That’s not policy debate. It’s not leadership. It’s not even honest opposition.

It’s imported American political theatre — cheap, divisive, inaccurate and beneath the office Poilievre is seeking.

Canadians had legitimate grievances with Justin Trudeau’s government. Housing affordability became a national crisis (and still is) under his watch, the carbon tax was a political albatross for the Liberals and the government spent recklessly.

The Liberals, in power since 2015 (albeit with a new leader and prime minister), deserve to face tough scrutiny, serious criticism and electoral consequences.

But none of that justifies torching the credibility of Canadian institutions or smearing law enforcement to score political points.

Poilievre doesn’t need to mimic Donald Trump to win the next election. In fact, it’s the one thing that could cost him victory again (if he’s still around as leader for the next federal election).

Canada needs a prime minister who will defend the rule of law, not undermine it. One who will hold political opponents accountable through debate, evidence and elections — not baseless criminal accusations.

Poilievre should drop the Trump-style rhetoric. It may rile up his closest supporters on the political right, but it won’t help build a country.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca