Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would slash the public sector to get the budget in line.
“I’m going to reduce the size of the bureaucracy and the state,” said Poilievre in French in an interview with Radio-Canada.
Poilievre said that the Liberals have added 110,000 public servants since Justin Trudeau took office, contributing to the deficit and tax increases.
The cost of federal bureaucracy surged by 73% during Trudeau’s tenure with a 42% rise in the number of federal public servants. During this period, Canada’s population increased by only 14.7%.
A previous poll revealed that almost half of Canadians want to shrink the number of jobs in the public sector.
Asked whether working from home was appropriate or not, Poilievre said that the result is what matters. He said that there needs to be proof that the work is done.Accomplishing that, Poilievre said, would require clear tasks and monitoring as to whether it is completed.
“Now I see in the federal government, the work isn’t getting done and we need to put methods in place to make sure the work gets done, and we need fewer civil servants too. We have way too many civil servants in the federal government,” said Poilievre.
In the interview, Poilievre also positioned himself as the best candidate to take on the Trump administration, which has vowed to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian products as early as Feb. 1.
“Do you think you’re the right person?” asked host Marie-Claude Julien.
“I’m the only person,” said Poilievre.
He said that none of the frontrunners in the Liberal Party of Canada leadership election race are up to the job.
Poilievre said that Freeland is “very, very weak” after agreeing to all of Trump’s demands in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“And Mr. Carney is even weaker, with policies even further to the left than Justin Trudeau,” said Poilievre. “He wants to increase spending, raise taxes. It’s a gift to Donald Trump because it forces companies to leave the country and go to the United States.”
Poilievre previously said that all of the Liberal leadership candidates were “just like Justin.”
He said he called on the Liberals to put Canada ahead of the party’s interests by recalling Parliament so that parties can work together in addressing tariff threats.
Poilievre added that the Liberals should have held the leadership race two years ago when “it was clear that Justin Trudeau was incompetent.”
Trump decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement. Poilievre was unclear on whether he’d follow suit but said that the best way Canada can help reduce global emissions is by accelerating energy production. Other countries can become less reliant on coal by Canada exporting more natural gas.
He added that he would remove the federal government from approval decisions so that provinces can accelerate green projects like hydroelectricity.
Trump also ordered the United States out of the World Health Organization. Poilievre said he would not follow suit.
Another Executive Order signed by Trump declares that the United States would only recognize two sexes: male and female.
Poilievre said he wasn’t sure the Canadian government was even involved in defining those definitions. However, he said he would protect women by ensuring that no men are allowed in women’s prisons, bathrooms, or sports.
