Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre offered some rare praise for the prime minister’s speech in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this week, calling it “well-crafted and eloquently delivered” – but in a six-page statement released Thursday, he also criticized Mark Carney’s record on reducing Canada’s reliance on the United States.
Poilievre said Carney is right to restate that Canada must become more self-reliant, less dependent and work with like-minded countries, adding that Conservatives are “as always” willing to work with the prime minister to “turn these words into results.”
The statement marks a shift in tone from the Conservative leader, who has been criticized for his sometimes harsh rhetoric toward opponents. But his response included plenty of barbs, too.
“If Liberal words and good intentions were tradable commodities,Canada would already be the richest nation on earth,” Poilievre wrote. “Unfortunately, after a decade of promises and grand speeches, Liberals have made our economy more costly and dependent than ever before.”
Carney’s Davos speech has earned international praise for his frank assessment of the current world order, and his call for middle powers to band together in the face of great powers using “economic integration as weapons.”
Though the speech didn’t mention the U.S.by name, the implication was clear. That prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to lash out the next day,saying: “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
Poilievre has held a skeptical view of the World Economic Forum, promising to ban ministers of a conservative government from attending and claiming Liberals use it to “give lectures on thier radical woke agenda”– a contrast the Liberals highlighted following Carney’s acclaimed speech.
A senior Conservative source said Poilievre took two days to carefully parse the Davos speech before responding.
‘Conservatives stand ready to help’
In his response, Poilievre acknowledged
