National Post (National Edition)
SCHEER ON OFFENCE
CALLS TRUDEAU A FRAUD WHO DOESN’T DESERVE TO GOVERN
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer wasted no time in attacking Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau Monday in the only English-language debate to take place during the election campaign.
Scheer accused Trudeau of being a phoney and a fraud. He raised the SNC-Lavalin scandal and Trudeau’s treatment of former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, and also brought up his use of blackface.
“Justin Trudeau only pretends to stand up for Canada,” Scheer said. “You know, he’s very good at pretending things. He can’t even remember how many times he put blackface on because the fact of the matter is he’s always wearing a mask.”
Scheer accused Trudeau of wearing masks on Indigenous reconciliation, feminism and on his concern for middle-class Canadians.
“Mr. Trudeau, you’re a phoney and you’re a fraud and you do not deserve to govern this country.”
But Trudeau was also quick to hit back. During a part of the debate where the policies of Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada, were under scrutiny, Trudeau told him: “Mr. Bernier your role on this stage right now seems to be to say publicly what Mr. Scheer believes privately.”
For his part, Scheer attacked Bernier for policies which he said were designed to attract those on “the darkest parts of Twitter.”
But later, it was Trudeau and Scheer clashing again with the Conservative leader saying the Liberal leader had twice broken ethic laws and had failed to follow the law in relation to SNC-Lavalin. Challenged on why the rules did not apply to him, Trudeau responded that he was protecting Canadian jobs, a position he has adopted consistently on the campaign trail.
With just two weeks until election day and polls showing the Liberals and Conservatives locked in a dead heat, the debate may be the last big chance for the leaders to make a big impression on Canadians.
The debate, which was hosted in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., across the river from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, was already historic before it started because it was the first time six leaders assembled onstage during a federal campaign.
That meant the Battle Royale main event featured several matches on the undercard. Battling for progressive votes was NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who will also be trying to woo disaffected Liberal voters.
The polls coming in before the debate showed a deadlocked race. The Nanos threeday tracking poll showed the Liberals at 34.3 per cent support and the Conservatives at 33.4 per cent support, while an Abacus poll showed the Liberals at 35 per cent and the Conservatives at 33 per cent.
This is a race being fought within the margin of error, with a big possibility that the uncertainty lasts until after midnight on election day.
Earlier Monday, the political shadow of Doug Ford loomed large over the pre-debate campaign trail as the Liberals kept lumping the Ontario premier together with Scheer, while the Conservatives did their best to pry the two apart.
Front-runners Scheer and Trudeau made brief appearances in Ottawa before joining their four other foes in making final preparations for the debate.
Trudeau joined a group of Ontario teachers in a bid to highlight ongoing tensions between the province’s education workers and the Ford government — tensions that eased ever so slightly the night before when a lastminute agreement saved parents across the province from a potentially disruptive strike.
Ford’s cuts to services such as education have made him unpopular with voters and a drag on federal Conservative fortunes, observers say.
Trudeau has been trying to take advantage, linking Ford to Scheer every chance he can. The premier will oppose and interfere with Liberal efforts to reduce child poverty and increase federal child benefits, Trudeau said, warning Scheer would only make matters worse.Scheer called Trudeau’s photo op with teachers a “disgusting” attempt to politicize education.