Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will support the Liberal government on issues it deems to be in Canada’s interests.
On the same day that Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his new cabinet, May 13, Poilievre added that it is “not a promising start.”
In his second press conference since the April 28 election, Poilievre said the party will take its role of holding the government to account “seriously,” but that it will not “reflexively oppose everything the government does.”
Poilievre said he wants to see Canada succeed and the government address the issues of housing affordability, crime, over-regulation, high taxes, and heightened food bank usage.
“Mr. Carney talked a good game about reversing Liberal policies in these areas. But now we have to find out if he was serious. And so far, it’s not a promising start. The first disappointment is, unfortunately, his cabinet,” Poilievre said.
Carney’s first cabinet was announced two months ago when he was sworn in as prime minister, replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Poilievre criticized Carney on March 14 for keeping many of Trudeau’s cabinet members.
Related Stories
On May 13, Poilievre had a similar critique of Carney for keeping ministers like Steven Guilbeault, Sean Fraser, and Chrystia Freeland in his cabinet. The Conservative leader said Guilbeault aimed to “shut down all future developments in our resource industry” when he was minster of environment and climate change. He said Fraser “gave us the housing crisis” as housing minister, while Freeland “massively grew our debt” as finance minster.
Guilbeault will remain Carney’s minister of Canadian culture and identity with the additional portfolio of official languages. Fraser has been moved to justice, and Freeland is returning as minister of transport and internal trade.
“Even the new additions are problematic,” said Poilievre, noting Vancouver housing costs increased significantly when Gregor Robertson, the new housing minister, was mayor from 2008 to 2018.
“If this is the new blood that Mr. Carney is bringing into the cabinet, then sadly for Canadians nothing is going to change, and the role of the Conservative Party will be more important than ever,” Poilievre said.
During a May 13 press conference, Carney said all the cabinet ministers, “particularly the most experienced,” have “many talents and very much experience and can play many roles.”
Carney said the government will deliver on its mandate with a “new team purpose-built for this hinge moment in Canada’s history.”
Poilievre said Canadians’ lives have been “turned upside down in the last decade” and that his party will continue to be a voice for them, making sure “that every single person who invested their hopes in us sees us fighting for them every day, even though the final result did not go how we wanted.”
Poilievre also addressed Carney directly and told him to “steal my ideas” on issues ranging from dropping the carbon tax and promoting resource development to lowering inflation and stopping crime.
“I note the Liberals even lifted a few of those ideas and put them in their platform to get re-elected,” Poilievre said. “We want to make sure that they were sincere about that, and we’re going to continue to put forward solid ideas to make people’s lives better every day.”
While the Conservatives gained more than 20 extra seats in the April 28 election, they lost the election to the Liberals, and Poilievre lost in his riding of Carleton, which he had held for over two decades. Conservative MP Andrew Scheer will serve as interim Opposition leader in the House of Commons until Poilievre returns to Parliament.
Since the election, Conservative MP Damien Kurek has offered to give up his Battle River—Crowfoot seat in Alberta so Poilievre can run in a byelection. Carney has promised not to delay the byelection, saying he won’t play “games” for political gain.
Alberta’s Grievances
During the May 13 press conference, Poilievre was asked if he opposed Alberta’s separating from Canada, an idea that has been gaining traction since the election. Poilievre said as a “born and raised Albertan” he is against the province separating from Canada.
He added that the province has “legitimate grievances,” such as losing major pipeline projects and seeing federal policies restrict its oil and gas sector.
“Frankly, Albertans have a right to be frustrated. And I think the message to the government in Ottawa, the Liberal government, is you can’t tell Alberta to just pay up and shut up,” Poilievre said. “They deserve to be treated with respect, and they deserve to be honoured for the immense contribution that they make to this country.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she will fight for the benefits her province is entitled to and that she will create a team to negotiate the removal of federal policies the province seen as restricting resource development. She will also set up a panel to explore the province’s future.
Smith has said that while her party opposes separation, she would allow a citizen-led petition on secession to go to a public vote in 2026 if it meets referendum requirements.
On May 13, Smith reacted to Carney’s new cabinet on social media by saying she ua “very concerned” by the appointment of Julie Dabrusin as environment minister. Smith said on X that Dabrusin is a proponent of phasing out oil and gas and designating plastics as toxic, and had also served as parliamentary secretary to previous Environment Minister Guilbeault, whom Smith had a tense relationship with.
“Albertans will not stand for the status quo from Ottawa. If the prime minister is serious about resetting the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta then we need meaningful action now, not more of the same,” Smith said.
Carney has said he will work with Alberta and has emphasized the importance of national unity.
“Canada is stronger when we work together,” Carney said on May 6. “I am Albertan. I proudly believe in Canada. So one can ask the [separation] question, but for me the answer is clear.”
For her part, Dabrusin said she is “thrilled” to be part of the new cabinet, and that she will have more to say in coming days.
