Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday after Trudeau claimed that he never called parental rights protesters hateful.
In a post on the social media platform X, Poilievre accused Trudeau of backpedaling and labeling the parents as hateful in an attempt to distract from his own failures by creating villains out of Canadians.
“Now Trudeau wants you to believe he didn’t say what he said. Yes, he accused parents of ‘this hate,’ when they raised concerns about schooling. He divides to distract by creating villains out of Canadians: parents, hunters, truckers & anyone else who disagrees with him. No more divide and conquer. Unite for Canada,” posted Poilievre.
The Million March for Children protests, which were organized by parents and activists who oppose the school board policies on gender ideology and parental consent for pronoun usage, drew thousands of participants in various cities.
At the time, Trudeau posted a statement on X in which he expressed his support for the 2SLGBTQI+ community and denounced the “hate and its manifestation” during the demonstrations.
“Let me make one thing very clear: Transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country. We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations, and we stand united in support of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians across the country – you are valid and you are valued,” posted Trudeau on Sept. 20.
Despite these comments, yesterday Trudeau denied that he ever called the protesters hateful and said that he respects the right of Canadians to express their views peacefully.
“I never suggested that someone who’s concerned about parental rights is somehow filled with hate or intolerance,” claimed Trudeau.
Poilievre’s statement was the latest comment in relation to gender ideology issues. According to an internal Conservative party memo, MPs were directed to only refer to the leader’s past comments when asked about the issue.
Following the protests in late September, Poilievre told Trudeau to “butt out” of the conversation.
“Justin Trudeau always divides to distract from all he has broken. This time, he is demonizing concerned parents. Parents should be the final authority on the values and lessons that are taught to children. Trudeau should butt out and let parents raise their kids,” said Poilievre.
