Hon. Pierre Poilievre · TranslatePolitics.ca

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-26

“There were wars and oil prices were high in 2014. But gas was cheaper then. It's more expensive under Justin Trudeau. Blame his taxes and weak dollar. I want to axe the gas tax. Cut waste and red tape to pay for it. Conservatives have solutions. Elect us to make life affordable.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, because he is so bad with geography, he just received a demotion. With the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, with the price of oil at $100 a barrel and the price at the pump at $1.38, and I am not talking about today; I am talking about 2014. During the Harper years, global oil prices were higher than they are today, and there were wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, but the price at the pump was 40¢ a litre lower than it is today. There is no doubt that the price Canadians pay at the pump is indeed influenced by global conditions. However, that does not explain the current situation, because the conditions were exactly the same in 2014. Oil prices were actually higher than they are today and the price at the pump was 40¢ a litre lower than it is today. That is about 25% less. There must be other factors at play. These are not global factors. They are Liberal factors. What Liberal factors are affecting the price of gas? First of all, taxes are going up faster. There is a new carbon tax, renamed the clean fuel standard, which already adds another seven cents a litre and applies more broadly than the previous Liberal carbon tax. There are no exemptions for farmers, fishers or other food producers. Second, the GST rises every time the price of oil goes up, because it is a percentage-based tax. Lastly, we have a weak dollar. The Liberal Prime Minister holds himself up as a brilliant economist, but ever since he took office, the dollar has been extremely weak, even as the value of the main resources we have here has gone up. Our dollar is worth 72¢ to 73¢ U.S. When our dollar is weak, we pay more for the goods we buy on the world market. When our dollar is weaker than the U.S. dollar, we pay more for products priced in U.S. dollars. How did we get here? First, the taxes that the government charges on gas raise the price people pay at the pump. Anti-development laws are preventing us from developing our resources, leading us to have the second-longest waiting period for mining approvals, for example. These laws are reducing the number of dollars that foreigners have to spend to be able to buy our goods. This makes our dollar weak, which in turn makes our purchasing power very weak. At the pump and at the grocery store, Canadians are paying for the Liberal government's “weak dollar” policies, which have not changed since this Prime Minister has been in power. He is following the same policies as Justin Trudeau, the same policies he advised on five years ago, the same policies that he promoted as a member of an anti-oil banking alliance. Canadians are paying the price with a higher cost of living that just keeps going up month after month. The Conservatives are proposing concrete measures to make life more affordable. We propose eliminating all fuel taxes for the whole year, which will save Canadians 25¢ per litre, $20 per fill and $1,200 by the end of the year. We are calling on the Liberal government to scrap its taxes and leave more money in Canadians' pockets. How are we going to pay for it? We will cut red tape, which has ballooned by 7% a year. We will cut back on consultants, because the Liberals spend $20 billion in that area—twice what was spent in Stephen Harper's final years. We will cut back on corporate welfare and the big cheques the Liberals hand out to large corporations that they have ties with and that have good lobbyists. We are going to cut foreign aid, because if we cannot pay the bills here in Canada, we do not have money to send overseas. We are going to cut back on waste and fraud, the fraudulent money we give to fake refugees. Just today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer revealed that the government is pouring billions of dollars into rejected refugees, not actual refugees. These are five examples of things we can eliminate to reduce the cost of living at the pump without increasing the Liberal deficit. Canadians are paying too much because we have a government that spends too much. An affordable government will give us an affordable life. That is what a positive solution to fulfill Canada's promise looks like: Working hard leads to a good life, an affordable life where people can provide for their children and have the means to enrich their life. Let me just recap the global situation. There are wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, we have an oil price around $100 a barrel and the price at the pump is $1.38. I am not talking about now. I am talking about 2014. Former prime minister Stephen Harper was in power and wars were raging in the Middle East, in both Syria and Iraq. The Russians had just invaded Crimea and the global oil price was $100 a barrel, $10 higher than it is today, and yet the price of gas at the pump was 40¢ a litre cheaper than it is today. What explains the difference? Let us go further. In the United States right now, south of the border, Americans are paying, in Canadian dollars and in litres, 17¢ a litre less than Canadians. They have the same global oil price and the same global factors like the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and yet it is 17¢ a litre cheaper south of the border. Why? Sure, there are global effects that have influenced prices lately, but the bigger and longer-term costs are the Liberal government effects. One, it continues to impose a newly renamed and rebranded carbon tax, this time seven cents a litre rising to 17¢, but a broader tax that, unlike the earlier one, does not exempt farmers, fishers or other food producers. Two, the GST rises on the cost of a litre of gas as that cost goes up because it is a percentage-based tax. Three, we have an extremely weak dollar, and this is very unusual. Normally, when the world has high oil prices, Canada has a strong dollar because we have so much oil to sell on the world market. However, because the share of our economy made up of our oil exports is down, the link between oil prices and Canadian dollars is reduced, which removes the protection that consumers had from global shocks 10 years ago. Now, with a weak dollar and everything priced in U.S. dollars, globally priced commodities like oil and gas become far more expensive in Canadian dollars. A weak dollar means weakened purchasing power. Almost every foodstuff has either a North American or a global price. When we have a weak Canadian dollar, the ability of Canadian consumers to buy those goods is also weakened. A weak dollar means higher prices for Canadians. It is amazing that the Liberal Prime Minister, who has been wrong on every single economic issue of the last decade, has now delivered us a weak monetary base in this country. By printing cash and continuing to block resources, he has given us a weak dollar, which is incredible, because that was supposed to be his incredible forte. However, if we look back, he has been wrong on every single economic issue of the last decade: wrong on the carbon tax, wrong to oppose oil and gas, wrong to oppose the pipeline to the Pacific and wrong to support money printing during inflation. He is wrong again today by continuing to impose taxes on our gas. Conservatives have a motion with a very simple and obvious solution, which is to take all taxes off all gas for all of the year to save consumers 25¢ a litre, 20 bucks a fill-up, which is $1,200 by Christmas. Let us lower the cost at the pump to re-energize our economy, move the parts that make up our economy more quickly, create jobs, relieve families and unleash the power of our economy to restore the promise to our people.

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“I'm filling time by piling on about a map to dunk on the government.”

Oral Questions

Indigenous Affairs

2026-05-25

“You need to make sure your lawyers make the right arguments this time. Fee simple property rights should be supreme. Seniors who paid for their homes deserve to feel secure. The government should vote for our motion to protect property rights.”

“I'm insisting the government isn't really fighting for property rights. Telling owners their land is at risk isn't enough. Your guideline blocks your lawyers from making the best case. Are you on homeowners' side or not? Vote yes, drop your rule, and fight to defend property rights in court.”

“The Prime Minister is just another tax-and-spend Liberal. This government won't even defend property rights in court. People could lose their homes! I want the government to reverse itself and defend property rights, but it won't.”

Oral Questions

Taxation

2026-05-25

“Canadians pay too much tax. The government taxes their work, their gas, their beer. Now you want to triple their Netflix tax too? Stop taxing them to death. Do what we say and get rid of that Netflix tax.”

“Inflation is high and I want voters to blame the party in power, not world events. I want you to think prices were lower when my party was in charge because of us, and higher now because of them.”

“The price was lower under Harper, so the high price must be your fault now.”

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-07

“I'm not going to get trapped in a legal debate about international obligations. I'll just repeat patriotic slogans about Canada first instead.”

“The Prime Minister is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He says he supports property rights, but his own lawyer instructions say not to defend them. He should stop dodging and actually fix this with the power he already has.”

“We have to fix this now because the government didn't defend property rights in court. Homeowners could lose their homes and it's the government's fault.”

“The Prime Minister says he'll defend property rights, but actions speak louder than words. A guideline for federal lawyers not to defend them in challenges by first nations does the opposite, and he's not walking the walk. He could vote for our motion to really defend them everywhere and always.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is all an illusion. The Prime Minister says one thing while doing precisely the opposite. That has been the signature trait of his entire prime ministership. He does precisely the opposite of what he says. While he was making those comments in the House of Commons, on his own federal government website was litigation guideline 14, which forbids federal lawyers from defending fee simple property rights in challenges by first nations. It is another example of the Prime Minister providing an illusion of one thing while doing precisely the opposite. If he will actually defend property rights everywhere and always, then he can simply vote for our motion, which requires we defend property rights in court.

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“The Prime Minister keeps promising to speed up projects but nothing happens. He needs to get out of the way. Get rid of the carbon tax. Approve projects and pipelines. Legalize oil and gas shipping. Let people build and invest without interference. The government also needs to protect private property rights. A court ruling threatens property rights because the government wouldn't defend them. Now investment is being cancelled because land title isn't secure. The Prime Minister spreads illusions about supporting property rights while his lawyers are instructed not to defend them. We need secure land title for a free market democracy. Conservatives have a plan to fix this mess the Prime Minister caused. Cancel the guideline banning lawyers from defending property rights. Don't sign agreements that don't protect property rights. Present a plan to protect British Columbians' rights within 30 days. Start a committee to study how to save property rights. We will fight for homeowners who deserve security and certainty that they own their homes.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, before starting my speech, I just want to mention the media reports saying that the Liberal Prime Minister is once again promising a new law to speed up projects, a year after he promised the very same thing. It is déjà vu all over again. We passed Bill C‑5 in five days almost a year ago. The Prime Minister said he was going to build at speeds not seen in generations. A year later, he has not used his powers once to approve a single new project in Canada. Now, he is repeating the same promise. Five hundred projects are waiting for federal approval. The only thing he needs to do for them to move ahead is to get out of the way. The Prime Minister needs to get out of the way by getting rid of the carbon tax. He needs to get out of the way by granting permits. He needs to get out of the way by legalizing oil and gas shipping off the West Coast. He needs to get out of the way by allowing a pipeline. That is the way to start letting builders build, investors invest and businesses create. Before starting, I just want to address that the Liberal Prime Minister is again spreading illusions. CBC ran a big headline that he is going to introduce a new law to get projects built. Where have we heard that before? Eleven months ago, the House gave him unprecedented legal powers under Bill C-5 to approve projects quickly. He said these powers would allow him to build at unimaginable speeds. Eleven months later, he has not used them once to approve a single solitary project. There are 500 of them waiting for his approval. There is only one thing in the way, and that is the Prime Minister. We do not need an announcement, a symbolic signing ceremony or any other illusions. We need him to get out of the way, get rid of the industrial carbon tax, approve the 500 projects waiting, grant a permit for a pipeline to the Pacific and legalize shipping oil off the West Coast. We need him to let builders build, workers work and investors invest. To do that, though, we also need to protect private property, which is the foundation of any economic civilization. Last August, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in the Cowichan case that aboriginal title had prior and senior status over private property rights, what is called “fee simple.” Fee simple is the legal term for the title one has to own their home. This is an unprecedented ruling, and it changes everything. We have to acknowledge how this ruling came to pass. It was the result of the Liberal government refusing to defend property rights in court. The federal government is the defendant in this case. It is named, and frankly, it is the only defendant. The Liberal government passed litigation guideline 14, an instruction from the Liberal cabinet that federal lawyers were not to argue for the seniority of fee simple property rights. The judge noted in her 800-page ruling that this is one of the reasons she could not protect property rights in her decision. That guideline is still on the Liberal government's website, meaning the Prime Minister has kept it in place. Eight months went by after this ruling, which affects 800 acres and over $1 billion of private land, and the Prime Minister, who is the head of the government that is the defendant in the case, said absolutely nothing. He said nothing; he did nothing. Then the other day, he stood up and spread the illusion that he suddenly supports property rights, all while instructing his lawyers, through an explicit guideline still on the government website, not to defend those same property rights. Already there are reports of over $100 million in investment being cancelled because land title cannot be secured, as a result of the fact that there is no guaranteed collateral for the investors and the lenders. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister directed his Liberal government to sign the Musqueam agreement, which began the process of granting title to the Musqueam over lands that include metro Vancouver, Delta and even the same Richmond lands that the Cowichan decision granted to the Cowichan people, causing an even greater mess. The Liberals claim that their framework agreement with the Musqueam has no legal force and it does not matter, which raises the question of why they signed it at all, but what is clear and what legal experts say is that there is no protection for private property rights in that agreement either. All of this raises big concerns not just for Richmond and the Lower Mainland but right across British Columbia, because there are claims on almost the entire province. British Columbia is not a province where land cession has happened through the treaty process. There are going to be countless other claims that will come forward from other nations using the same precedent that came from the Cowichan ruling, which could literally threaten millions of homeowners. In the meantime, investment is paralyzed and suspended. Liberals across the way are trying to downplay the concern, but let me quote Mayor Malcolm Brodie of the City of Richmond, who said, “Property owners in Richmond and throughout the province can no longer rely on their title confirming a fee simple interest as conclusive evidence of absolute ownership of their land. The Court’s untenable decision cannot remain unchallenged.” Clearly, the mayor of the City of Richmond would not be raising the prospect that his own residents do not have clear title over the homes they bought if it were not truly a concern. Frankly, I do not know how the Liberals can deny the consequential impact of a court ruling that says there is one form of title that takes precedence over home ownership fee simple land title. Of course, that is a revolutionary change and an unprecedented change. It threatens the very economic foundations of our entire land-owning system. Without property rights, there are no economic rights. There is no country in the world where people are able to feed themselves, to house themselves, to prosper and to start businesses without having secure title. It is literally the single biggest determinant of economic prosperity. The great economist de Soto even pointed out that there are literally trillions of dollars of wealth that is deprived of people in third world countries simply because the people who live on the land do not have title of that land and, therefore, cannot build anything, including a home for themselves, on that land. To have a property-owning, free-market democracy, we need to have secure land title. That is why Conservatives have come forward with a solution to clean up the mess the Liberal Prime Minister has made. This motion today calls for the following action. One, it calls for the Prime Minister to cancel litigation guideline 14, the guideline that bans federal lawyers from defending property rights, and replace that guideline with a new one that requires they defend property rights in all such disputes. Two, it calls for a policy that the federal government will not sign anymore agreements with any first nations that do not explicitly protect fee simple property rights as having seniority over all other claims. Three, it calls for the Liberal Prime Minister, within 30 days, to present his plan to protect the property rights of British Columbians. It has been a month since this ruling. This is a federal issue where he is the federal defendant. He is the head of the federal government. He, by now, should have come up with a plan to defend the property rights of the people of British Columbia. Four, it calls for immediately convening a parliamentary committee to begin studying how we can save the property rights and the home ownership of the people of British Columbia and all of Canada. It is a four-step action plan that will immediately allow us to step up, do our jobs and defend homeowners. These are people who, in good faith, bought the land, paid down the mortgages and followed the rules. They deserve to have the security and the certainty that they own the homes they live in. Conservatives will fight for them. We will fight for their home, for their land, for their property and for all Canadians.

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Oral Questions

Taxation

2026-05-05

“Inflation is high. Gas prices are high. The dollar is weak. I say it's the government's fault. I want the Prime Minister to cut carbon taxes and gas taxes.”

Oral Questions

Natural Resources

2026-05-05

“The other guy said something dumb about not wanting a pipeline. His carbon tax is bad. It'll make everything cost more. Why won't he ditch the tax and build the pipeline?”

“The Prime Minister won't give a straight answer on whether he supports building pipelines. I want him to say where he stands.”

Oral Questions

Taxation

2026-05-05

“In 2014, gas prices were cheaper under Conservatives with the same global oil price. Now gas is 15% cheaper in the US. I say high Liberal taxes, inflationary spending, and a weak dollar caused by the Prime Minister's policies are the reason. I want the Prime Minister to announce he will get rid of all the gas taxes for the whole year.”

“I want to blame the Prime Minister for high gas prices. Gas prices are higher now than in 2014 even though global oil prices are the same. The difference is because of inflation, debt, carbon taxes, and a weak dollar. The government should remove all Liberal taxes on gas for the rest of the year.”

“Gas prices are higher in Canada than in the US. This government's taxes and deficits and weak dollar are to blame. The Prime Minister should cut all gas taxes for the rest of the year.”

“You say high gas prices are because oil is $100 a barrel. In 2014, oil was $100, but gas was 50¢ cheaper. High prices are because of taxes and your policies. Cut all gas taxes for the rest of the year!”