What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

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Oral Questions

International Trade

A House of Commons debate on international trade. The Conservatives criticized the Liberal government for failing to remove U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, while the Liberals defended their approach of seeking the best trade deals and working to diversify Canada's trade partners beyond the U.S. Much of the discussion focused on the impacts of tariffs on specific industries and regions in Canada.

Official Hansard ↗

Tim Louis

Liberal
“I cheer for our government. We have the best deal. We talk to many, many people. Everyone in Canada works together and agrees. We will make Canada strong.”
Our translation 73% shorter

Hon. Anita Anand

Liberal
“Canada relies too much on trade with one country. We will make it strong by signing random deals with every country we can. I will list many deals to sound busy.”
Our translation 63% shorter

Hon. Maninder Sidhu

Liberal
“The government wants you to think increasing exports a little more to China is good. They hope touting a plan to sell more things to more countries will make you forget that we still haven't dealt with the U.S. tariffs.”
Our translation 70% shorter

Tim Louis

Liberal
“We won't tell you the plan. We are doing some work. We will get a good trade deal eventually. We're negotiating secretly. That's all you need to know.”
Our translation 67% shorter

Karim Bardeesy

Liberal
“I deny we're to blame. Deflect to other programs. Our programs are good. I say we are helping workers. I don't accept your premise.”
Our translation 76% shorter

Hon. Kody Blois

Liberal
“We have a trade deal. It's called CUSMA. We are at the table talking. We won't settle for a bad deal. We will support impacted industries and workers. The Conservatives would have folded in 2018.”
Our translation 75% shorter

Hon. Anita Anand

Liberal
“I ignore your point about trade with the US being valuable. I say it's good that we make many agreements with other countries. I want everyone to praise us for those instead.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Corey Hogan

Liberal
“The tariffs are lower than you said. We've made some changes to help the industry. We should keep doing that.”
Our translation 84% shorter

Corey Hogan

Liberal
“I'm filling time by talking about how great things are instead of answering the question. I want help, but I'm not actually saying how we'll get a better trade deal.”
Our translation 73% shorter