Poilievre fires back at Trudeau's 'cuts, be angry' line, challenges PM to take responsibility

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is firing back at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for saying his approach to everything is "cuts and be angry," challenging Trudeau to take responsibility for Canadians' anger.

"After eight years, Justin Trudeau is running out of people to blame… housing costs have doubled, the cost of living is rising, crime, chaos, drugs and disorder are common in our streets," said Poilievre at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday. "Now, Justin Trudeau thinks the worst problem in Canada today is that people are angry at him. I think the worst problem is that people can't pay their rent."

At a housing event in Hamilton, Ont. on Monday, Trudeau brought the Conservative leader up multiple times, suggesting his "answer to everything is cuts and be angry, that's not Canada."

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"That's where the anger that he is drumming up is dangerous for Canadians, who would much rather work hard and build a strong future than throw up their hands and say, 'Oh, it's all terrible, it's all broken, let's all stay home.' No. That's not who Canadians are," Trudeau continued.

In a rebuttal on Tuesday, Poilievre said he’s “not concerned whether or not Justin Trudeau’s feelings are hurt, because people are angry at him. I'm concerned about the misery that he has unleashed on our streets and in the pocketbooks of Canadians.”

Trudeau had also questioned Poilievre's housing policies, prompting the Conservative leader on Tuesday to point to his "fire gatekeepers" and "build homes fast" plan unveiled in the spring of 2022, while taking aim at new Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser.

"I was surprised that Justin Trudeau chose the worst immigration minister in Canadian history to be his housing minister," Poilievre said, criticizing Fraser's record on his previous file, then later dodging questions about what immigration targets he’d set if he was the prime minister.

Touting that when he was responsible for housing under Stephen Harper a decade ago, "housing cost half of what it does now," Poilievre questioned why Trudeau suggested at the event unveiling funding to help build more homes that the file isn’t a primarily federal responsibility, given the core roles provinces and municipalities play.

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"Yesterday he held a press conference to announce in front of a house, to tell you all that he's not responsible for housing. That's funny, because eight years ago, he promised he was going to lower housing costs. It's also funny that the biggest housing agency in Canada… is federal. Mortgage insurance: federal. Taxes, fiscal and monetary policy: federal, federal, federal… All these things are federal, and yet the federal prime minister claims he has nothing to do with it," Poilievre said.

Speaking to reporters outside of West Block on Parliament Hill, Poilievre also dismissed concern about the prime minister portraying him as angry at a time he's trying out a new look and tone in what's largely been considered an effort to expand his appeal.

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"Do you think, do you really think, that the single mother who has seen her rent go up by 100 per cent under Trudeau wouldn't have noticed if I didn't say it?... Justin Trudeau and some of his supporters in the media are really concerned that Canadians are angry with him. I'm concerned that Canadians can't afford to live and that they're not safe in their communities," Poilievre said.

"Justin Trudeau is upset that I'm saying things are broken. Maybe he should stop breaking them."