“They’re all just like Justin,” Poilievre told reporters in Ottawa during his first press conference since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would be resigning once the Liberal party had elected a new leader.
“In the next election I will be running against Justin Trudeau, whether his name is Justin Trudeau or his name is Chrystia Freeland or carbon tax Carney or carbon tax Clark, they will all be Justin Trudeau,” he said on Thursday.
“They supported everything he’s done and they promise to keep doing it. If they say otherwise, we know they’re lying because they would have done so earlier.”
Poilievre then listed off potential candidates Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland and Christy Clark, all of who could potentially serve as the new leader of the Liberals, citing each of their long-standing alignment with Trudeau’s policies.
“I’m calling on Justin Trudeau to do what he has the legal power to do, he can do it without his caucus supporting him. I’m calling on him to walk out of Rideau Hall and announce that there will be an ‘axe the tax’ election now so that Canadians can take back their lives and country,” he said. “The choice will be simple, either the NDP-Liberals, who tax your food, punish your work, double your housing costs, unleash crime and chaos and weakness on the world stage or common sense Conservatives.”
Poilievre went on to say that Canada needs a “massive tax cut” to bolster a stronger economy that is producing and manufacturing products domestically.
The Conservative leader said such changes would make Canada’s economy more independent and less vulnerable to threats from abroad.
In regards to incoming US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, Poilievre suggested a boots-on-the-ground approach to negotiating with the country’s largest trading partner and ally.
“We should go to the American workers in the Midwest and their union and business leaders and say, ‘how many jobs are you prepared to lose by hitting Canadian energy with tariffs?’ Energy that we sell to America at discounts that create six-figure jobs for American workers. How many of those people will go out work? How many of those hard hats will be laid down and boots be unfilled because Americans will lose jobs due to that self harm if those tariffs go ahead.”
Without tariffs, Poilievre noted, Canada could offer home builders better softwood lumber and tech companies reliable electricity sources to power their AI data centres.
“We have the most uranium for nuclear centres,” he said. “Meta, Google, Mircorsoft are all buying or refurbishing their own nuclear plants to power their data centres, we could do it for them here in Canada.”
Poilievre argued as our neighbouring ally, the US should not opt for purchasing oil from Venezuela but instead buy “good, clean, Canadian oil.”
“Not only should we condemn Maduro and the dictators in Venezuela for what they’re doing, we should shut them off by shutting down their energy and their oil sales and replacing it with Canadian oil sales,” he said. “The Americans, our friends, want Canadian oil, not Venezuelan, not Iranian and not other dirty dictator oil from around the world.”
Poilievre argued that these would be the kinds of arguments a “strong prime minister with brains and backbone to lead a country” should be presenting to Trump if Canada had a “serious government.”
He said that the time has come for Canadians to once again be proud of their country, unapologetic of its past and to honour their shared values.
“We need to live out the dream that started with John A. MacDonald. Yes, I said John A. MacDonald, who believed in an independent and sovereign Canada,” said Poilievre.
“We need to uphold our heroes, stop tearing down our symbols. We need to remind people who come here that when they’re given a Canadian flag and they land on Canadian soil, that it’s the greatest gift on earth and that they should be proud to be part of the Canadian family.”
Real estate agent banned by Ottawa Real Estate Board for anti-Pride comments
An Ottawa real estate association has banned a real estate agent for comments he made on social media criticizing LGBT pride.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board, a private board that provides listing services to real estate agents in the city, banned Marc Papineau, a 14-year agent, from doing business with the organization after he failed to pay a fine it levied against him for the comments.
In a lengthy 2023 social media post, Papineau said he doesn’t think LGBT “Pride” should be celebrated for an entire month when veterans only get one day to be recognized. He also said drag shows aren’t appropriate for kids and that sexual preference should be a topic only discussed by adults.
Following the comments, the Reddit activists filed complaints against Papineau to both the Real Estate Council of Ontario – the regulatory body for the industry in the province – and the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
The provincial regulatory body determined that Papineau’s comments were personal in nature and did not warrant disciplinary action. He is still listed as an agent in good standing with no restrictions or disciplinary action on the council’s website.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board – a private industry association – took a different stance.
According to records of appeal decisions, disciplinary hearing transcripts and notices of termination acquired by True North, the board considered Papineau’s posts professional because he also posts business-related content on his personal account.
His ban means that he is no longer able to list properties on Realtor.ca, also known as the multiple listing service (MLS).
While Papineau said he regrets how he phrased his comments, he still thinks the backlash has been disproportionate.
“What I said was taken completely out of context. I was called every name in the book. The level of hatred and harassment I faced was beyond imagination—death threats, months of online attacks, and even people showing up at my friends’ workplaces, demanding they be fired for liking my post,” he said. “My staff and friends were harassed relentlessly.”
He told True North that he has no issue with people’s sexual orientation, as he had stated in the original post, but as a Christian, he doesn’t agree with how pride is celebrated.
He said he has friends who served in the military and endured unimaginable hardships and feels like the disproportionate focus on recognizing LGBT+ pride over the time spent honouring veterans demonstrates that their sacrifices are being “overlooked.”
“We live in a free country where social issues should be open for discussion. Losing the ability to speak freely is the first step toward tyranny,” he said. “If others want to celebrate pride for months, fine—it’s a free society. But in that same spirit, I should be free to voice my objections. That’s what freedom looks like.”
The Ottawa Real Estate Board did not respond to True North’s request for comment.
The private listing board’s decision to terminate Papineau’s membership states that he breached a code rule that a real estate who uses its services must not engage in “disgraceful, unprofessional or unbecoming” conduct.
Papineau told True North in an interview that the standard that the private real estate board holds its members to is the same standard that judges in Canada must adhere to in their personal lives – something he feels is unreasonable.
Despite the regulatory body finding no cause to continue action against him, the private requiring estate association effectively overruled RECO’s decision, fining him $4,000 and required him to take a $1,158.25 diversity course offered by the regulator.
Because Papineau filed for bankruptcy, he negotiated the fines from OREB down from $4,000 to $100.
As per emails between Papineau and the board, he reached out about being unable to pay for the ethics course, and the board said they’d get back to him. He said because of this he thought he had more time to register for the course.
By the time the private board got back to him, the date he had to register by had passed and he received a letter of termination from the listing service association on Nov. 28, 2024.
As a sign of good faith towards a future appeal, Papineau borrowed money to be able to take the course and registered for it in December.
Papineau said the board’s decision to ban him has been “devastating” for his career.
“The damages are immeasurable. My reputation has been tarnished in certain circles, and I’ve lost business. Being forced to move to another board has stained my name,” Papineau said. “Competitors now use the fact that I’m blacklisted against me. They tell potential clients I’m banned in Ottawa, which causes me to lose listings and buyers.”
He said he continues to face bankruptcy in the midst of all the trouble, and the ban has “taken a toll” on his family.
Papineau believes that allowing industry associations to police free expression on personal social media accounts endangers Canada’s status as a free society.
“This isn’t just about me. Today, it’s me, and tomorrow it’s someone else. If this continues, eventually, no one will be allowed to speak,” he said. “RECO has a public list of offences by realtors in this city, including fraud, assault, theft… yet those individuals still hold licenses. My ‘crime?’ A Facebook post.”
Papineau said he is seeking an appeal for the regulatory body to overrule OREB’s decision as he keeps his legal options open.