Category Archives: Question Period

Recaps from Question Period in the House of Commons

QP: Book-cooking and Telesat accusations

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The PM was finally present, for a few minutes anyway, in advance of the budget release. The other leaders were also present, and Pierre Poilievre led off in both French and English to once again demand the all fuel taxes be scrapped in the budget. Mark Carney reminded him that the budget would be tabled in a couple of hours. Poilievre stayed in English to accuse the government of “cooking the books” on immigration, and Carney pointed out how far down the numbers were, including the slowest population growth in decades. Poilievre continued a hysterical rant about immigration levels, and Carney insisted that they had “taken back control.” Poilievre then accused Carney of “cooking the books” on government debt, and Carney patted himself on the back for cutting “operational spending,” and quipped that Poilievre only knows how to tear down and not build up. Poilievre gave a smug smile and said that he doesn’t know how to build up billions of dollars in debt, and then moved to the questions on Telesat. Carney pointed out that the process began in 2007 and that he hasn’t made any decisions around it. Poilievre insisted that the contract was awarded this August, and again demanded to know who he discussed it with. Carney again said he wasn’t involved in any decisions around it, and suggested Poilievre read the National Security Strategy and said that they would Build Canada Strong™ in space.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he read out the Liberal Women’s Commission’s denouncement of Bill C-39. Carney said that Quebeckers and Canadians want to build and build faster and deployed his slogan about one project, one review, in one year. Blanchet then quoted a Quebec union leader’s concerns about the bill, whom Carney has consulted with, and Carney gave some boilerplate about respecting her and the right to strike. Blanchet then raised the AFN national chief’s concerns about the bill, and Carney patted himself on the back for the meeting between Indigenous leaders and premiers, and that she was aware of the need for the bill.

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QP: Conspiracies and conflicts of interest in the MPO

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The PM was in town but absent, possibly napping after arriving back home at 3 AM. Pierre Poilievre was present, and he led off in French, demanding that the prime minister cut all diesel taxes in the budget tomorrow. Steven MacKinnon reminded him that the price increases were because of the conflicts in the Middle East, while the Conservatives voted against help for Canadians. Poilievre then listed the perceived conflicts of interest around Telesat, and demanded an accounting for them. Mélanie Joly defended Telesat as a great Canadian company that needs support. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his performance about demanding the prime minister cut all diesel taxes in the budget tomorrow. MacKinnon got back up to point out that the Conservatives have systematically opposed measures to help Canadians. Poilievre went on a rant about American companies pushing biodiesel as part of his demand for an end to diesel taxes, as he continues to claim that clean fuel standards are “taxes.” Julie Dabrusin delivered the usual lines about helping Canadians, and noting that there is a biodiesel facility just outside of his riding that benefits the farmers in his riding. Poilievre returned to his line about there being two economies, and then repeated the accusations around Telesat. Joly got back up to praise Canadian companies like Telesat being key to our sovereignty. Poilievre claimed that they raise theatrical distractions if they get “caught with their hands in the cookie jar,” and repeated his accusations. Joly noted the long-standing poilcy around supporting firms like Telesat and wondered if Poilievre was in it for American firms.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, listed items that the government has capitulated on the Americans on, and wondered about if they are the “masters of our destiny.” Joël Lightbound listed projects like Churchill falls that the Bloc should support. Normandin listed further environmental capitulations and that “masters of our destiny” was supporting their own priorities. Lightbound listed benefit programmes that the Bloc have not supported. Jean-Denis Garon demanded compensation for Quebec for asylum seekers and to not re-index certain benefits, and Lightbound listed further supports for Quebec firms by the government. 

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QP: Prisoners of Pessimism

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The PM was away at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, but all other leaders were present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, noted the midterms in the U.S., and claimed that the PM was just “losing” against the Americans, and demanded a deadline for a new U.S. deal. Dominic LeBlanc insisted that they were negotiating to come to an agreement that was in Canada’s interests, which Poilievre would not recognise. Poilievre repeated the same in English, and LeBlanc was more pointed in saying that Poilievre would be the leading expert in the House of Commons on theatrics, and said that they did agree there was economic harm, which is why they were supporting Canadians rather than accepting a bad deal. Poilievre insisted that the government should be at the table right now, and again insisted the government was only offering theatrics, and LeBlanc repeated his same points. Poilievre raised a food bank report from Toronto and demanded to know when we would get a “good deal,” and LeBlanc again said that unlike the opposition, they were not neglecting Canadians who are affected. Poilievre then insisted that there are two economies—one who for people who follow the rules, and one who make them, and raised the issue of corporate-paid employees seconded to the Major Projects Office. Leblanc cautioned him not to invent conflicts of interest where none exist, and that those people are stepping up to serve the country. Poilievre railed about “corporate power brokers,” apparently confusing himself with the leader of the NDP, and lamented people skipping meals before he demanded help for them in the budget. Tim Hodgson listed the jobs that approved projects are supposed to create.

Marilyn Gladu is sitting in Carney’s seat, and I still can’t get my head around it. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-11-03T19:22:47.161Z

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he said that Carney has sold out to the Americans, whether it was selling out on the digital services tax or on the environment in service of American corporate giants. Joël Lightbound praised their cultural spending in the budget, and told him to wait for Thursday’s “excellent” budget. Blanchet demanded the GST credit be doubled again, or to lift the GST on second-hand goods, and Lightbound recited the tax breaks and benefits already delivered that the Bloc didn’t support. Blanchet demanded action on their list of budget demands (which is funny because the document is already printed), and Lightbound praised their cultural spending “historical” infrastructure agreement with Quebec.

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QP: Returning to bad-math gas tax demands

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The PM was absent, preparing to depart for the Commonwealth meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. Pierre Poilievre was present, and he led off in French demanding that the government eliminate all gas taxes in the budget. Julie Dabrusin noted that the heat pump programme will help people save money from coast-to-coast-to-coast, and that bio diesel will help farmers in Poilievre’s riding. Poilievre suggested that heat pumps help Brookfield and biodiesel subsidies aid American companies, and repeated his demand. Dabrusin wonders why Poilievre can’t help farmers in his riding provide canola for biodiesel. Poilievre switched to English to make the same demand again, and Dabrusin repeated her same points about canola and biodiesel, which is supported by the clean fuel standard. Poilievre called her out of touch, and wailed about the cost of diesel for farmers, and this time Wayne Long stood up to recite some good news talking points about Thursday’s budget release. Poilievre mocked the government’s record, with particular attention to food banks and housing, and Long repeated his same praise for the upcoming budget. Poilievre repeated his same faulty math about gas taxes, and this time, Tim Hodgson listed government support programmes that Poilievre voted against.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she listed agenda items on the Canada-EU talks that were in areas of Quebec’s jurisdiction and demanded a seat at the table. Steven MacKinnon praised how good this agreement is for Quebec and Canada. Normandin demanded some transparency about these items rather than just leave everything in the PMO, and MacKinnon said that transparency was having a meeting in Montreal attended by six former Quebec premiers, which…missed the point. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe demanded the doctrine that claims to allow Quebec a seat at the table, and MacKinnon insisted that they are engaging all provinces with discussions in areas of their jurisdiction. 

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Cringe-worthy Seinfeld exchanges over Europe

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The PM was absent, off in Montreal for a digital asbestos announcement and the start of his EU summit. Pierre Poilievre was present, and he led off in French, and he accused the PM of trying to distract Canadians who can’t afford food or housing with the “associate member” conversation with the European Union, which got “rejected,” and noted that nine members of the EU haven’t ratified the existing trade agreement and wants an assurance that they will do so. Steven MacKinnon good up to praise the summit with EU leaders, and said that they were hoping to collaborate on a number of areas beyond trade. Poilievre switched to English to make the same accusation with the dated accusation that it was a “Seinfeld summit—a meeting about nothing.” (Who makes Seinfeld references anymore?) MacKinnon said the only one who knows about Seinfeld is Poilievre who wakes up and lives the same day every day, before praising the summit and the cooperation beyond trade. Poilievre insisted that the recurring nightmare was what Canadians live when they can’t afford to live, blamed government spending on inflation (false), and said the PM acts like George Costanza, running around the office trying to look busy. MacKinnon says that Poilievre acts like Kramer who just walks into the room and says something weird, before he praised free trade and collaboration with Europe, particularly on defence and procurement, as well as cooperating on democracy. Poilievre then got up and smirked, said everybody loves Kramer, and says that what’s weird is the EU’s carbon border adjustments and demanded that our goods not be subjected to them. MacKinnon noted that among the cooperation includes energy and patted himself on the back for west coast LNG going to Germany. Poilievre went into a rant about affordability and called this agreement another PR stunt, to which MacKinnon reminded him that the trade agreement with Europe is in effect even if not completely ratified, and that we are on track to doubling our non-US exports. Poilievre accused then of hubris for praising announcements they have not kept, and he then railed about beef and pork exports and called the summit a “nothingburger.” MacKinnon listed areas of cooperation and threw in a few Carney slogans along the way.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she too worried about the carbon border adjustments and how the federal abandonment of climate policy could negatively impact Quebec. MacKinnon insisted this was misinformed and listed the areas of cooperation once again. Normandin repeated her concerns that even if Quebec continues its carbon prices, their exports could still be exposed to those tariffs. MacKinnon praised how green Quebec’s aluminium sector is, and suggested that if they were concerned about GHGs, they should support high-speed rail. Mario Simard raised the auditor General’s report on pesticide management and how this too could impact trade with Europe. MacKinnon ignored this and just praised areas of collaboration.

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QP: Complete fictions about inflation and interest rates

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The PM was finally present for the first time in two weeks, and all of the other leaders were present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he blamed “out of control” government spending for rising inflation which is why the Bank of Canada raised interest rates, which is not what the Bank said at all. Mark Carney thanked him for that lesson on monetary policy and pointed to the Bank’s statement that the inflationary factors were coming from outside Canada, and then pointed to projected growth rates. Poilievre insisted that this as an admission that Carney’s policies caused inflation, and that Canadians are the most indebted in the G7, so they would suffer under higher rates. Carney said they needed to reconcile the discrepancies between their statements, and repeated the Growth projections. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his same pronouncement that government spending and deficits were fuelling inflation, and that was the reason rates were rising. Carney repeated that the Bank was clear the causes were global and he cited the various cuts his government has made to spending. Poilievre again proclaimed the falsehood that spending was driving inflation, and Carney repeated the levels of his cuts. Poilievre selectively cited the Bank’s statement and blamed the clean fuel standard, and Carney again pointed out that the Bank’s statements were all on the record, and spoke about the price of diesel. Poilievre again insisted that Carney was out of touch, listed food banks and housing reports, and railed about affordability. Carney responded by listing measures for Canadians that Poilievre voted against. 

Poilievre is blaming government spending on the inflation that raises interest rates. The Bank of Canada was clear that this is because of global forces, especially gas prices. Too bad Carney can’t spell that out. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-10-28T18:36:00.472Z

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and noted that while Carney was hosting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi while the UAE funds the conflict in Sudan, and compared this to the premier of Quebec not being allowed to speak at the EU summit. Carney noted that he gave PSPP a chance to greet the dignitaries and to sit at his table. Blanchet listed other countries with human rights abuses Carney was doing business with but wouldn’t deal with PSPP. Carney insisted they were doing business and raising issues. Blanchet started off on the wrong question, stopped, and restarted by demanding PSPP be allowed to speak at the summit. Carney said that the Quebec delegation already had four meetings, and that this was just the beginning of talks. 

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QP: Bringing up PSPP’s bellyaching

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The PM was in the building after a signing ceremony for another “strategic partnership,” this time with the Crown Price of Abu Dhabi, but once again not in the House for Question Period. Pierre Poilievre led off by declaring we already have a trade deal with Europe and a defensive alliance with NATO, but worried that we would be ceding sovereignty to the EU and its “costly policies” of taxes, immigration, and regulation, and that it would infringe on provincial jurisdiction, and turned this into the bellyache from the premier of Quebec that he’s not being allowed to speak at the Canada-EU summit in Montreal later this week. Joël Lightbound noted that the EU is 450 million consumers and 18 percent of the world’s GDP, and that Canada is negotiating an agreement that is interests of Canada and Quebec, and thanked the Quebec delegation’s work in Brussels. Poilievre noted that CETA still is not fully ratified, before he pivoted to inflation “skyrocketing” (Note: it absolutely is not) and railed about the federal debt. Lightbound noted the increase in exports out of the US, and then noted that when he speaks about “inflationary programmes,” does he mean the children who benefit from the Canada Child Benefit? Poilievre switched to English to continue his nonsense point about inflation, and the size of the federal debt. Wayne Long trotted out his talking point about the fact that Poilievre has not accomplished anything in twenty years while the PM has A Plan. Poilievre insisted the PM should be standing up to talk about his record, and he repeated the claim that interest on the federal debt costs each family $6000 per year. Long said that real leaders have a plan, like theirs does, unlike the Conservatives. Poilievre switched topics to housing, and the response to an Order Paper question staying that starts will go down, and that the government is blaming immigration. Gregor Robertson got up to say that he would “reprimand” the leader of the opposition—got drowned out—and eventually said that everyone comes from immigrant stock, so nobody should blame immigration for housing shortages. Poilievre waved the Order Paper question response in the air to say that the government themselves blamed immigration, and Robertson started saying something to the effect of the difference between immigrants and immigration, before he again got drowned out, before he got out the fact that the leader of the opposition demonises immigrants before he again got drowned out.

Yves-François Blanchet then led for the Bloc, and he too whinged that the prime minister isn’t letting the new Quebec premier speak at the Canada-EU summit. Lightbound reminded him of how many Quebec Liberals got elected and patted himself on the back for the increased trade with Europe, in collaboration with the provinces. Blanchet continued to bellyache on PSPP’s behalf, and Lightbound insisted that Quebeckers want the government to carry on with their trade plans. Blanchet got increasingly pissy about the supposed snub, and Lightbound said an invitation was extended for him to greet dignitaries and to be at the dinner, and he hoped the premier would be there.

https://twitter.com/hassinhadi/status/2115122619578290472

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QP: One national credit card or three?

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The PM was in town meeting with premiers and First Nations leaders, but not in the House of Commons. Pierre Poilievre was present and led off in French, worrying about a Quebec headline about rising food bank use, and blamed it on government spending and inflation. (Note: While headline inflation is elevated on oil prices, core inflation is on target). François-Philippe Champagne noted how many Canadians and Quebeckers benefitted from their programmes and that the Conservatives voted against it. Poilievre railed about national debt and inflation and that taxpayers were servicing the debt instead of paying for hot meals, to which Champagne again pointed to the benefits delivered to Canadians and wondered if Poilievre would cut them. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the nonsense that the debt was “out of control,” that this would fuel inflation, and that it was all on the “natonal credit card.” Champagne cited that we have the most educated workforce in the world, we have the ability to build everything, and they are doing everything to build the country. Poilievre accused the government of “cooking the books” and spouted some utter nonsense about the spending being split between “three credit cards,” referencing operational spending, investment, and Crown corporatios, which doesn’t actually make any sense whatsoever. Champagne accused him of talking the economy down and repeated some Build Canada Strong™ talking points. Poilievre decried how much was being spent on interest on said debt, to which Tim Hodgson listed the jobs created by major projects. Poilievre continued to rail about debt interest, and claimed to break it down to how much in taxes a family has to pay for that interest. Champagne suggested he read the Fiscal Monitor to see how our public debt charges are still near historic lows.

Marilène Gill led for the Bloc, and she turned to the party’s usual denunciations of C-39. Dominic LeBlanc accused her of characterising decisions in an inaccurate way, and insisted that moving faster doesn’t mean that standards or consultations aren’t being respected. Gill raised the lawsuit by “youth” about the environment and suggested the government not fight them but move in the right direction. Steven MacKinnon said that young people in Quebec dream about jobs, that they will build with projects like Churchill Falls. Andréanne Larouche then raised the labour provisions of C-39, and MacKinnon dismissed these concerns.

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QP: Questions about “hot meat markets”

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The PM was off to Türkiye to advance trade talks, while Pierre Poilievre was present. Poilievre led off in French, and cited that Statistics Canada says that they undercounted the people in the country by 300,000, and wondered how this could mean we need more immigration. Curiously, Jill McKnight got up to say that they have been working on immigration since the start of the “new government.” Poilievre then tried to needle that the PM was abroad again, got warned by the Speaker, and then went into a question about food bank use. François-Philippe Champagne retorted that Poilievre has been here for twenty years and done nothing to help people. Poilievre switched to English to lambaste that the PM was signing an “unenforceable” agreement while people in Canada go hungry and unfocused. Champagne repeated his same response. Poilievre then repeated the question about undercounting immigrants, and Champagne stated that they have been getting immigration “under control” before he went on a paean about people who want to choose Canada. Poilievre tried again, and Patty Hajdu suggested he speak to his caucus about not demonising immigration because immigrants are hard workers who build businesses, and his own caucus members keep asking for more temporary foreign workers in their ridings. Poilievre kept at it, and insisted the system was “out of control,” and demanded provinces get more powers over immigration. Hajdu said that they have been working closely with provinces and territories to ensure that they have the flexibility they need, before tearing into the Conservatives for demonising immigration.

Patty Hajdu lambasted the Conservatives for demonizing immigration, which was met by howls of “shame on you!” from the Conservative benches. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-10-22T18:31:44.846Z

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she cited 59 scientists from the Royal Society of Canada against Bill C-39, and wondered if the government would listen to science. Joël Lightbound trotted out the talking points about building more in Canada. Normandin then quoted Steven Guilbeault’s criticism of the bill, and Lightbound raised Churchill Falls as a need for the bill. Patrick Bonin repeated Normandin’s quotes into a single question, and Julie Dabrusin insisted they are building clean energy projects with that bill.

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QP: Cutting and pasting the new food banks numbers

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The PM in the building, just down the hall, making an announcement with Doug Ford, but not in QP, and won’t be this week at all as he jets off to Türkiye later today. Pierre Poilievre was present, however, and he led off in French, and he raised Food Banks Canada’s latest report, and wondered what happened to Mark Carney saying people can judge him by the prices at the grocery store. Joël Lightbound thanked him for the question and recited how many Canadians benefit from programmes like dental care and the Canada Child Benefit. Poilievre complained that the government voted against their Supply Day motion that there is an affordability crisis, and Lightbound responded that Poilievre has spent twenty years voting against help for Canadians. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the question about the Food Banks Canada report, and Evan Solomon got up to first express his thanks for the work Poilievre did in Wainwrigth, before patting himself on the back for programmes the government delivers. Poilievre quoted a line from the Food Banks report, to which Solomon thundered about the benefits that they deliver to Canadians, and insisted that the Conservatives were all talk on because they opposed it. Poilievre took the bait, and listed the things that the government as all talk about (even though most of the items on that list were either torqued or out of context). Solomon got up to repeat his same points with added excitement. Poilievre insisted that the only thing the government was feeding was interest on the federal debt, and Solomon listed the statistics on growth and cherry-picked job numbers.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and denounced Bill C-39 as conservative authoritarian overreach, that this exceeded the wildest dreams of Stephen Harper, and it was no surprise that Conservatives were crossing the floor to the Liberals. Sean Fraser disputed this and praised its goal of building more. Normandin listed groups that are against the bill, and said the only people in favour are the Conservatives. Julie Dabrusin patted herself on the back for all of the green projects that this legislation would support. Andréanne Larouche took over to decry that the same bill is an attack on labour rights, and wondered how the Liberals could be more anti-union than the Conservatives. Joël Lightbound insisted that they only want parties in labour negotiations to get along.

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