Trudeau, Poilievre exchange verbal blows on Ukraine support amid House approval of revised trade pact

The House of Commons greenlights the revised Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, despite Conservative opposition. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses Pierre Poilievre of Ukraine abandonment.

In a heated exchange, Trudeau and Poilievre criticize each other’s efforts in aiding Ukraine as the final vote on the trade pact implementation, Bill C-57, concludes. The legislation secured passage with 214 votes in favor and 116 against, receiving backing from Liberal, Bloc Quebecois, New Democrat, and Green Members of Parliament. The bill progresses to the Senate for further review.

Highlighting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea to Canadian lawmakers for the deal’s passage, Trudeau criticized Poilievre during Tuesday’s question period, accusing him of abandoning Ukraine and its citizens.

Post-vote, Trudeau deemed the Conservative opposition “inconceivable.”

Earlier in Montreal, Poilievre, before returning to the Commons for the vote, lambasted Trudeau over the controversy surrounding the invitation extended to a Nazi veteran during Zelenskyy’s visit to Canada last year, accusing Trudeau of embarrassing the Ukrainian president.

“He embarrassed the Ukrainian president,” Poilievre remarked. “Justin Trudeau is a big talker and a little doer when it comes to Ukraine.”

Canada has provided substantial military donations, as well as millions in humanitarian, development, and security aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion two years ago. However, not all promised aid, such as the delayed air defense system donation, has reached the war-torn nation.

“He’s made all these announcements of hundreds of millions of dollars of different equipment that he’s never actually delivered,” Poilievre criticized.

These exchanges coincide with broader discussions about evolving Canadian perspectives on the war, notably among Conservative voters, as indicated by an Angus Reid survey showing declining attention and support for the conflict.

 

Several federal cabinet ministers emphasized the significance of Canada’s ongoing support for Ukraine during Tuesday’s proceedings.

“What’s most important here in my opinion, is to explain to Canadians and to the world, what the reality of the situation in Ukraine is. Yes, the war is happening in Ukraine. However, it is also a war for us,” Freeland said in French, speaking to reporters in Ottawa.

“We need to understand what the goal of Vladimir Putin is. Putin wants to change the world… wants to rewrite the rules that we have established in the world,” Freeland said. “He wants a world in which it is the strongest countries with the largest armies that are able to control everyone else. This would not be a good world for Canadians.”