OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre refused to condemn U.S. President Donald Trump and instead said he “respects” the office of the president, adding that he can still be “firm” with him and get along.
Asked Sunday by a reporter “Do you respect Donald Trump?” – which appeared in many ways to be a trick question – Poilievre responded, “I respect the office of the President of the United States.”
“And we have to show respect to other world leaders. The bottom line is the Americans buy 75 percent of our goods. So, whoever is the Prime Minister is going to have to at some point deal with President Trump. He was only elected a short time ago. He’s going to be around for four more years.”
Poilievre said one could be “respectful and firm” with Trump, adding that he believes “we have to be both.”
“I will insist the President recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist that he stopped Tariffing our nation. And at the same time, I will strengthen our country,” he noted.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered an election that will be held April 28.
Poilievre has blasted Carney as an “establishment” Liberal politician who was “installed” by “Justin Trudeau’s insiders.”
Trump, as reported by LifeSiteNews, recently suggested he would prefer Carney to continue as Canada’s prime minister instead of Poilievre, who Trump said was “no friend” of his.
Poilievre hit back at Trump, saying the reason Trump endorsed Carney was that he “knows” he would be a “tough negotiator.”
In recent weeks, Trump has stated many times that he thinks Canada should be the “51st” state, a comment that was rebuked by Trudeau, Carney, and Poilievre.
A little over a week ago, Trump announced he was giving Mexico and Canada a 30-day reprieve on 25 percent export tariffs for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.