Pierre Poilievre on Trump tariffs: 'We will fight back'

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OTTAWA — The United States, say’s Canada’s Opposition Leader, has stabbed its best friend in the back.

Speaking Tuesday morning in the foyer of West Block, Pierre Poilievre told U.S. President Donald Trump that if he insists on carrying through his trade war with Canada, he’ll have a fight on his hands.

“We’ll defend our people, we’ll defend our economy, and we’ll put Canada first,” he said. “There’s no doubt that our economy will suffer — but so will yours, President Trump.”

As heavy snow blanketed the nation’s capital, political leaders across all parties were united in their response to Trump’s punitive tariffs, pushing a strategy of comprehensive and tit-for-tat retaliation.

While Poilievre dismissed Trump’s assertions about fentanyl being central in his tariff decision, he said Canada’s fentanyl crisis is still a concerning failing of the Trudeau Liberals during their decade in power.

“The Liberals have not done enough on fentanyl, but not because they should’ve been doing it for Trump, they should’ve been doing it for Canadians,” he said. “We’ve lost 50,000 people to fentanyl — that’s more than those who died in the Second World War — and it’s because of our weak borders, the soft laws and the radical liberalization of drugs that the Liberals experimented with and want to continue on with.”

Poilievre said Trump’s justifications are meaningless, pointing out that the United States has been a worrying source of smuggled drugs, firearms and illegal migration for years.

Speaking directly to Canadians anxious over losing their jobs, Poilievre promised to fight for them.

“Before these tariffs came in this morning, you must have been asking yourself, ‘how can things get any worse?'” he said, pointing to Canada’s skyrocketing cost of living, a lack of housing, growing food insecurity and crippling taxes.

“We will overcome this attack on our economy.”

He outlined a retaliation plan, including escalating tariffs with proceeds used for tax cuts and relief for those who’ve lost their jobs.

He also called for a wartime-like homebuilding boom to increase jobs, lower housing costs and bolster demand for Canadian lumber and labour.

“While Canadians are slow to anger and quick to forgive, once provoked — we fight back,” he said.  “And we will fight back.”

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