Category Archives: Question Period

Recaps from Question Period in the House of Commons

QP: Taunts about a Conservative-Liberal merger

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The PM was meeting with Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, while Pierre Poilievre was also absent from QP yet again. That left Carol Anstey to lead off, going full Karen, as she listed the things she wanted to speak to the manager about, like gas prices and the gun buyback. Steven MacKinnon got up to say he still hasn’t received a list from the Conservatives on things they would cut. Anstey cited consultants and the gun buyback as cuts, And again demanded gas taxes be cut. This time Wayne Long got up to deploy his line about being “laser-focused.” The very masculine Jacob Mantle got up to quote the CEO of Cenovus for claiming that carbon prices have driven projects out of Canada. Tim Hodgson said that he should listen to the CEO of Shell, who praised developments in Canada. Hodgson demanded a pipeline today, and Hodgson listed those which got approved, along with other projects. Gabriel Hardy quoted a Fraser Institute study on youth unemployment, to which Joël Lightbound pointed to the training funds for skilled trades in the spring economic update. Hardy then groused that the Major Project Office has not approved any project before bellyaching about taxes, and jammed in a reference to the “national credit card.” MacKinnon repeated the points about skilled trades, and noted Conservative opposition to projects like Alto.

Christine Normandin got up to raise the story about the government fast-Tracking more oil projects, and wondered how any environmentalists could be left in that party. Julie Dabrusin pointed to their methane regulations and insisted the government was showing leadership. Normandin taunted that the Conservatives must be itching to cross the floor as a result of the Liberal love for oil, to which Dabrusin wanted to assure the House that they were putting in the work on the environment. Mario Simard took over to continue the taunts about the environment, and this time MacKinnon got up to say that major energy projects can transform an economy, which included conventional energy. 

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QP: Justin Trudeau with a better LinkedIn account?

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The PM was off to Mirabel for an aerospace announcement, while back in the House of Commons, Pierre Poilievre was absent, leaving it to Sandra Cobena to lead off, complaining about the deficit as a way to demand the government cut all gas taxes. Wayne Long got up to recite the growth rates and the fact that wages are outpacing inflation. Cobena listed supposed scandals, before demanding the gas tax cut again. Steven MacKinnon got up to demand a list of programmes the Conservatives want got cut which they consider “inflationary spending.” Andrew Lawton took over to list more examples of supposed waste, and MacKinnon congratulated him on the number of empty slogans in a single question. Lawton retorted on the record of hot air from a transport minister, and tried the same again with some emphasis on their mocking the space launch facility lease. David McGuinty took this one, and he praised sovereign space launch capabilities. Dominique Vien took over in French to raise the issue of costs of food on the prime minister’s plane, and McGuinty turned this around that when talking about planes, the prime minister was in Mirabel to announce the largest aerospace order in Canadian history. Vien demanded gas taxes cuts, to which Joël Lightbound listed tax cuts they have already made, along with other benefit programmes, and the trade surplus recorded in March.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she demanded a wage subsidy for firms affected by the new U.S. tariffs, and MacKinnon reminded her of the supports they announced this week before patting himself on the back for the record airplane order again. Normandin was not satisfied, and again demanded a wage subsidy, and MacKinnon repeated the same response, and added that the Bloc should have offered congratulations for the order. Gabriel Ste-Marie took over to ask the same again, and Lightbound repeated that they are always there to support workers.

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QP: Unsuccessfully trying to goad the PM

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Fresh from his trip to Armenia and his announcement of Louise Arbour as the next Governor General, the PM was present for QP today. Pierre Poilievre also showed up, and he led off in French, and he immediately started taking swipes at the immigration minister, and demanded that the prime minister fire her. Mark Carney ignored the question, and praised Arbour as the next GG in French. Poilievre raised the visa for the Iranian official who got on a plane to Canada, and again demanded he fire her. Carney stated that Iranian officials are not allowed in Canada, and that they are taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen. Poilievre repeated the question/demand in English, and Carney repeated his same answer in English, before reciting his Farge-esque line about taking back control of the immigration system. Poilievre listed a bunch of misleading statistics about Iranian officials already in Canada, and again demanded the firing, and Carney rattled off the number of investigations, cancelled visas, and removals. Poilievre then switched to the Cowichan decision, recited some misleading nonsense, and claimed the government wasn’t defending homeowners. Carney said that they respect private property rights, which is why they appealed the decision, and then noted that it was Red Dress day. Poilievre claimed this was just an illusion, and cited the government’s litigation directives on Indigenous rights, and again claimed the government was not defending rights. Carney hit back that the only illusion was whether this makeover of Poilievre’s would work more than his previous attempts, and then repeated his same response. 

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and demanded to know why the government wasn’t not implementing wage subsidies for businesses in peril from tariffs. Carney said that he wanted to thank the member across the way for his support for the new measures announced. Blanchet was not satisfied, and tried again. Carney pointed out that the new measures will flow immediately, and it also goes to small businesses. Blanchet was still not mollified, and said that these small businesses could not go deeper into debt and demanded a wage subsidy again. Carney responded with praise from Quebec business groups for the new support measures. 

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QP: On what date remains a terrible question

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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. 

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QP: The magic of balanced budgets

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The PM was absent once again, off to Oakville to tout his plan to invest in the skilled trades, while back in the House of Commons, the Conservatives had a Supply Day where their motion was on denouncing the “sovereign wealth fund” plan. With that in mind, Pierre Poilievre was also absent, leaving it up to Melissa Lantsman to lead off, reciting the scripts about the so-called “credit card” budget and debt servicing charges, and wondered when the government would stop. Patty Hajdu wondered if their support for skilled trades was “inflationary spending” and quoted the building trades unions. Lantsman said the government debts were “killing” Canadians, and Hajdu again listed all of those skilled trades who were being supported by the government. Andrew Scheer took over, and he also read the same lines, added that the deficit was double Justin Trudeau’s, and said some nonsense about inflation. John Zerucelli got up to note that the Conservatives haven’t talked about workers, and then read some quotes from building trades unions. Scheer obliged and said that workers were tired of having no spending power, and quote a Globe and Mail editorial to make his point. Gregor Robertson got up to say the Conservatives never want to talk about affordable housing, and how those new tradespeople would help build it. Pierre Paul-Hus took over in French, and he quoted another columnist who decried the lack of fiscal discipline in the spring update. Mélanie Joly said that she was flabbergasted that the Conservatives don’t take the tariff war seriously. Paul-Hus tried again, and Joly defended the social safety net for when Canadian need it.

Yves Perron led for the Bloc, and he decried that there was no support for more businesses affected by the tariff changes while oil companies were getting handouts. Julie Dabrusin praised their strategies for electric vehicles and clean energy—which wasn’t the question. Perron then worried that the was no added support for the media or pensioners unlike oil company. Joly was incredulous as those talking points, and said that she was just in contact with the Quebec finance minister. Patrick Bonin denounced the tax credit for enhanced oil recovery in the spring update, and Dabrusin got back up to praise the nature strategy in the update, which again was not the question.

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QP: Credit card versus skilled trades

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In the wake of the fiscal update, the PM was present today as were the other leaders, because they all had a show to perform. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, where he deployed the same lines he has all week—credit card budget, just another Liberal, and that he doubled Trudeau’s deficit. Mark Carney praised the limitless possibilities that the update would provide. Poilievre mouthed his lines about food price inflation and blaming it on deficits, while Carney said that Poilievre was obsessing over Trudeau while he was focused on the future. Poilievre switched to English to say that he was being unfair to Trudeau because Carney had doubled his deficits, and wondered what he limit was on the “credit card.” Carney patted himself on the back for reducing the deficit by $11 billion in the face of a trade war and and actual war, before racing through some of his applause lines and slogans. Poilievre slowed down his cadence to look like he was talking down about the comparative sizes of the deficit, and Carney took a pause, said he wouldn’t go there, and then patted himself on the back for the focus on affordability. Carney said the Liberals were like the Bourbon dynasty, learning nothing and forgetting nothing, before he listed their supposed sins. Carney retorted that Canadians would not forget that Poilievre voted against benefits for them. Poilievre then claimed that Carney was wrong on every economic issue of the past decade, and Carney retorted that Poilievre was wrong on crypto and wrong on Brexit, but he could go on, while the government was building.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and worried about the new tariff calculations by the Americans, and Carney thanked him for his concern and that there would be an announcement on new measures in the coming days. Blanchet pointed out that there were no measures in the economic update, and Carney said it was always a good idea to believe what the prime minister says. Blanchet offered to set aside partisanship to focus on affected businesses, and Carney said that he and his ministers will take action to help those businesses. 

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QP: Filling time before the Spring Economic Statement

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In advance of the spring economic update, the PM was absent, and the other leaders were not present, but were off getting briefed for the 4 PM media rush. That left it up to Melissa Lantsman to read the script about “credit card budgeting” and capping the deficit. Dominic LeBlanc said that he appreciated her enthusiasm but it was false, and good news was on the the way. Lantsman tried again, and LeBlanc equated her “tired talking points” to an eight-track. Jasraj Hallan repeated the same script with added scorn, and LeBlanc repeated his assurances that the good news was on the way. Hallan read some complete nonsense about inflation, and this time, Steven MacKinnon gave his prepared lines about demanding a list of Conservative cuts. Pierre Paul-Hus took over to read the French version of the script, to which Mélanie Joly patted herself on the back for putting the fiscal house in order while helping Canadians with measures like cutting the price of gas. Paul-Hus demanded a cap on the deficit, and LeBlanc said that within a couple of hours, they would have the good news they were waiting for.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she decried that the prime minister called himself a nationalist but wanted a pipeline which Quebeckers don’t want. Joly said that the prime minister called himself an economic nationalist which is why he was launching a national sovereign wealth fund. Normandin was not mollified, and on her follow-up, MacKinnon listed projects that government was supporting. Xavier Barsalou-Duval took over to worry about a parliamentary secretary meeting with a group that promotes contract truckers. Peter Schiefke said that he accepted an invitation to talk about road safety for truckers, and would do so again.

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QP: Complete rotting nonsense about a “national credit card”

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The PM was in the building, and had done the “walking in” introductions for the three newly-elected MPs this morning (unusually, as this is normally done just before QP), but he was not in Question Period for whatever reason. Pierre Poilievre was present, and led off in French, referencing a Journal de Montreal article about seniors who don’t feel they can retire, and he blamed this on “inflationary taxes and deficits” and wondered if the government would rein those in. François-Philippe Champagne took the opportunity to praise this morning’s announced sovereign wealth fund. Poilievre trotted out his new line about a “credit card budget” and demanded the government cap the size of the deficit. Champagne rattled off the growth rates in the G7 to note why Canada is expected to grow faster. Poilievre switched to English to decry the size of the deficit, and again repeated the “credit card” line along with the demand for a cap. Champagne repeated that they have good news about the sovereign wealth fund, and that they are building together to benefit together. Poilievre tried his “prime minister is in hiding” line and got cautioned for the Speaker, and then called the sovereign wealth fund a slush fund put on the country’s credit card. Champagne repeated his lines about the rate of economic growth in the G7. Poilievre trotted out his self-important claim that he had a better economic record than Carney, and again lamented the “credit card.” Steven MacKinnon got up to note that inflation is in the target range, and he wondered just what exactly counted as “inflationary spending.” Poilievre listed the high speed rail project, the gun buyback, consultants, bureaucracy, supposed “phoney refugees,” and so on. MacKinnon noted that it was funny to consider money that hasn’t been spent inflationary, and then wondered which other programmes counted.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she lamented that the new U.S. tariff calculations were disproportionately targeting Quebec, and demanded a wage subsidy for affected industries. Joly agreed that the tariffs were abusive and agreed they would help workers. Normandin demanded more actions to help Quebec’s industries, and Joly pledged to continue defending Quebec’s workers. Gabriel Ste-Marie noted a business in his riding that is closing because of tariffs, and Joly again repeated that they are there for Quebec’s workers.

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QP: Just another Liberal

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Another day where the PM was in town but not at QP, while Pierre Poilievre had held a press conference in the Foyer earlier, and he was present. He led off in French, accusing Carney of being another Liberal with rising costs, crime, and “corruption,” before demanding that all taxes be cut on gasoline. François-Philippe Champagne responded by noting the cut in the gas excise tax. Poilievre whined that the question was for the prime minister, whom he declared was “hiding under the table” and received a caution by the Speaker for it, before he said that the reason the PM doesn’t respond because it would expose the illusion he has made thing worse. Champagne pointed out that they are helping Canadians, and that their economic update is coming next week. Poilievre turned to English, and called Carney “just another Liberal” before demanding all gas taxes be repealed. Champagne noted that Poilievre has been nowhere to be seen when they provided relief for Canadians before raising the economic update. Poilievre took a broad swipe at Carney, repeating the “hiding under the table” line, before pointing out that he “snarled” at a female journalist earlier in the day, and then denounced him in general. Hajdu said that if being just another Liberal means helping people, then sure, he’s just another Liberal. Poilievre listed Carney’s supposed sins as being “just another Liberal.” Hajdu tried another tactic and listed Poilievre’s supposed sins as being “just another Conservative.” Poilievre accused her of having imaginary conversations, before he went on a tear about the deficit and “printing money.” Champagne responded with his “take no lessons” line and listed supports they have provided while ensuring “sound fiscal management.”

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she lamented that the tariff crisis had not yet been resolved, and wondered about whether the government would adopt their proposal on wage subsidies for affected industries. Champagne said that they have a strategic fund to help companies with supports, and that foreign exports are up. Normandin then demanded an enhancement to OAS for all seniors, as well as more supports for forestry. Joël Lightbound said that she was right to note the headwinds the country is facing, which is why the government is busy diversifying markets. Jean-Denis Garon took over to lament the planned reduction in health transfers, and said they could pay for it by taxing oil companies and web giants. Marjorie Michel patted herself on the back for how well she works with her Quebec counterpart. 

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QP: Taking swipes about affordability comments

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The PM was in town but elsewhere, and had previously responded to reporters’ questions that morning about his lack of QP attendance as letting his team handle it because they work as a team, which doesn’t excuse his obligations as prime minister when it comes to the exercise of accountability. Pierre Poilievre was also absent, leaving it up to Andrew Scheer to lead off, and he returned to yesterday’s peevish demand that the prime minister recant his previous statement that affordability is the best it’s been in a decade. Patty Hajdu took the opportunity to praise the Canada Summer Jobs Programme, which has opened for the season. Scheer took a swipe about the prime minister not buying his own groceries, and this time, Adam van Koeverden took the opportunity to take a swipe of his own at the Conservatives’ anti-intellectual approach, and Scheer’s falsified credentials in that he never did get his insurance licence. Tim Uppal took over, and read his own script about the prime minister’s assurance about affordability, and Steve MacKinnon took this one, pointing to the conflicts that have created supply disruptions globally, which was why the government lowered the fuel excise tax. Uppal demanded that the government deliver results, to which Wayne Long pointed to how much people will save thanks to the government’s tax cuts so far. Pierre Paul-Hus was up next to read the same script en français, and Joël Lightbound took this one, praising the government’s enhanced GST credit as well as the cut on the fuel excise tax. Paul-Hus tried one more time, and this time Lightbound pointed to how many people in Paul-Hus’ riding benefitted from programmes like dental care. 

Christine Normandin led off for the Bloc, and after noting that it is Earth Day, she pointed out that the government is testing the waters on new pipelines while southern Quebec is facing floods brought on by climate change. Nathalie Provost touted the government’s plan for nature and protecting thirty percent of land and waters. Normandin was not mollified and wanted pro-environment Liberals to speak. Provost insisted that the world is in a precarious place which is why they are working on different levels with their nature strategy. Patrick Bonin took over to encourage people to fight back against pipelines and subsidies for oil companies. Provost repeated her line about working on several levels, and working with Indigenous People while they build and build well. 

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