The PM was wrapping up his meetings in Armenia and preparing to head home, while Pierre Poilievre was also away. That left it up to Melissa Lantsman to lead off, with the usual lines about “credit card” spending, and costs. Wayne Long stood up to praise the government’s efforts. Lantsman repeated the script with added disdain, and Evan Solomon took this one, to raise the trade war, and wondered what the Conservatives would cut. Tim Uppal took over and demanded to know when a pipeline would start construction. Mélanie Joly also pointed that there was a trade war going on. Uppal tried again, and Tim Hodgson suggested they spend time talking to proponents instead of just getting social media clips. Luc Berthold took over and read the “credit card” lines in French, and Joly repeated that we are in a trade war. Berthold ranted some absolute nonsense about “printing debt,” and Joly suggested he take a math lesson and recited the talking points about our position in the G7.
Oral questions. Questions orales. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:19:17.092Z
Lantsman blames high gas prices on government spending. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:20:58.026Z
Joly: We are in a trade war. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:24:39.790Z
Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she called the government’s tariff support announcement this morning to be insufficient, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. Joly praised the terms they are offering for the loans to help those firms. Normandin said that while the Bloc will cooperate with this measures, they government needs to do more, especially with a wage subsidy. Joly said that they will do more, because the government stands with the industry. Gabriel Ste-Marie gave his own question on the increased tariffs, and demanded more immediate support. Dominic LeBlanc said that he was touch with industry stakeholders.
Round two, and Jasraj Hallan read the script on “credit cards” again (Turnbull: The PBO confirms that we have a good fiscal position; Hajdu: Look at how much our programmes are helping people in your province), Laila Goodridge demanded a start date for a pipeline (Hodgson: Stop focusing on your social media clips; Hooray for the Sunrise pipeline expansion), Bob Zimmer blamed food prices on gas taxes (McKnight: We did cut fuel taxes and have benefits to help), and Kerry Diotte read the credit card script (Olszewski: Edmonton businesses are behind our plan).
Hallan: Credit card! #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:32:57.970Z
Diotte: Credit card! #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:38:14.480Z
Sébastien Lemire raised they pension software, and claimed cost overruns (MacKinnon: We modernised the system; Hajdu: Only $1.8 billion has been spent out of a total $4 billion budget).
Jason Groleau read the credit card script en français (Desrochers: We reduced the deficit by $11 billion; What Quebec spending do you want to cut?), Eric Lefebvre read it again (Provost: We are taking action to simplify government operations; Leitão: Quebec businesses are struggling because of the tariff war, which is why we are supporting businesses to keep the afloat), Richard Martel read the script yet again (Leitão: same again).
Groleau, Lefebvre, and Martel: Credit card! #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:46:34.702Z
Round three saw questions on LNG to Europe (Hodgson: We have European countries contracting with LNG, and Shell is investing in Canada; MacKinnon: We are building; The Sunrise pipeline will be expanded this summer), Iranian officials trying to enter Canada (Anandasangaree: There are strict entry requirements), taking swipes at the immigration minister (Diab: We are restoring control; Let’s talk about the facts), the Cowichan decision (Alty: We always stand up for private property; Fraser: We can advance reconciliation and protect private property at the same time; McKnight: You are creating uncertainty and fear), Montreal’s liveable income (MacKinnon: When will all members collaborate with us?).
Chambers and Kusie: On what date will Canadian LNG arrive in Europe? #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T18:51:44.351Z
And now we’re into Cowichan Decision questions. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T19:02:53.571Z
There was some kinda of yelling in the back of the Chamber that was something about “Go back to where you come from.” The Speaker was not terribly effective in shutting it down. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T19:05:58.693Z
And that was #QP.
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T19:12:00.200Z
Overall, it was not a very edifying day, and the fact that there was a near-scrap toward the end was even more concerning about the current state of affairs. As for the questions, it was a bit more scattered today, most of them around the same utter nonsense about the “credit card budget,” which makes no gods damned sense, but there was another older type of question that got revived, which were the “When will a new pipeline be built, just give us the date.” And if not with the pipeline, it was “Canadian LNG arrive in Europe,” under the bizarre notion that Carney can’t possibly be in Europe to negotiate more trade so it must be about LNG, which is particularly bizarre. It’s a stupid way to frame questions, and it’s a dumb rhetorical device for the sake of getting a clip, and it betrays a complete ignorance when it comes to how things actually get built, particularly when there are still no private proponents for any of these projects, so the fact that they are demanding government action on this remains particularly fraught.
*Personal information on opposition MPsWas typing too fast.
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T20:10:05.987Z
#QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-04T19:10:17.476Z
Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Rob Oliphant for a tailored dark grey suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark purple tie, and to Tamara Kronis for a blue and white jacket over a white scoop-necked top and navy slacks. Style citations go out to Patricia Lattanzio for a yellow floral top under a dark rose jacket, and to Dane Lloyd for a taupe suit with a beige shirt and no tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Sandra Cobena for a dark yellow jacket over a black top and slacks.