Pierre Poilievre

“Importing goods made with forced labour hurts Canadian workers' jobs and wages. It also causes American tariffs that hurt Canadians. When will the Prime Minister ban all products from Xinjiang?”

“Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister. We already know that Canadian workers lose out every time the country imports a product made with forced labour, because that reduces wages and takes jobs away from Canadians. Canadians are also losing out because of the U.S. tariffs on goods purchased from regions where forced labour is used. When will the Prime Minister finally take action to ban all products from the Xinjiang province?”

“The government is not doing enough to stop goods made with forced labour from entering Canada. The Americans have stopped thousands of these shipments, but Canada has only stopped two. When will the government ban products from Xinjiang?”

“Mr. Speaker, obviously, Donald Trump’s tariffs are unjustified and indefensible, but so is forced labour. The Liberal government has done nothing to protect Canadians from products made with slave labour. For example, the Americans, under Joe Biden, blocked 6,949 shipments of goods from the Xinjiang region. The Liberal government has blocked two. When will the Liberal government ban products from Xinjiang?”

“The Prime Minister will not speak out against forced labour in Xinjiang because he cares more about corporate profits than Canadian workers. Canadian workers cannot compete with forced labour. Will the Prime Minister ban goods from Xinjiang, yes or no?”

“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister refuses to stand up and condemn the forced labour in Xinjiang province because, of course, he does not want to jeopardize his corporate profits, in which he is continually invested, even though they come at the expense of Canadian workers. Canadian workers lose out when they have to compete with forced labour, and Canadian workers lose out when there are punitive tariffs as a result. I will give the Prime Minister one last chance: Put people before profit. Will the Prime Minister stand up and announce that he is going to ban shipments of any goods from Xinjiang province, which is renowned for forced labour, yes or no?”

• Personal attack
  ?

  Opposition question in Question Period

  Respect 51 of 100

  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “he does not want to jeopardize his corporate profits, in which he is continually invested”.

  See full analysis →

“I want the Prime Minister to speak out against forced labour in Xinjiang, China. His company took a $200-million loan from a Chinese state bank, but he needs to put people ahead of his business interests.”

“Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister. I asked if he would stand in this House and condemn the forced labour practices by the regime in Beijing being carried out on people in Xinjiang province. I know this is a tough issue for him because his company in China is seeking to expand its business. His company took a $200-million loan from a Chinese state-backed bank, so he does not want to compromise those interests. Will he put people before profits, and stand up today and condemn forced labour in Xinjiang province, yes or no?”

• Personal attack
  ?

  Opposition question in Question Period

  Respect 48 of 100

  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “tough issue for him because his company in China is seeking to expand its business”.

  See full analysis →

“The government lets companies move Canadian jobs to countries that use forced labour. This hurts our workers and lowers their pay. The Prime Minister has not spoken out against slave labour and genocide in Xinjiang. I want him to condemn it today.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals announced $600 million to stop two shipments and they stand with workers everywhere in the world. Are they kidding? They are undermining Canadian wages by having multinationals take away Canadian jobs and give them to regimes that use forced labour and slavery. Now, Canadian workers are facing potential tariff threats that will compound the cost to Canada. The Prime Minister has never condemned the genocide and slavery in Xinjiang province because of his corporate interests. Will he stand up today and say that he is condemning that kind of forced labour in Xinjiang?”

• Personal attack
  ?

  Opposition question in Question Period

  Respect 76 of 100

  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “because of his corporate interests”.

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“The government is not doing enough to stop products made with forced labour from coming into Canada from Xinjiang, China. The Americans blocked thousands of these shipments this year, while Canada has only blocked two in five years. Will the government ban all products from that region?”

“Mr. Speaker, the question is for the Prime Minister. Obviously, American tariffs on Canada are wrong, but so is forced labour. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on forced labour products coming into our supply chain from the Xinjiang province in China. For example, in 2024 alone the Americans blocked 6,947 shipments of products originating in the Xinjiang province in order to stop forced labour. Here, the Liberal government stopped only two shipments in five years. Will the government ban all products coming from the Xinjiang province and end slavery once and for all?”

“The Prime Minister cannot defend his economic record. His policies help a few rich people while everyday Canadians pay the price. Canada is in the only recession in the G20. I want him to tell us if this is a technical recession or a real one.”

“Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister, but he continues to be unable to defend his own economic track record. This was supposed to be his great strength, but once again, we see the same thing every time he goes anywhere. He gets a fancy title and a tiny group of people get very rich, making everybody else poor. There is a small group who get handouts and favours, whether for space pads or $200,000 for meals in private jets, while the Canadian people end up paying the price with the only recession in the G20. Will he stand up today and tell us, are we in a technical recession or a real recession? Which is it?”

“The Prime Minister is wrong when he says investment is up. Government data shows business investment has dropped for five quarters in a row. I want him to tell us if we are in a recession.”

“Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister really believed any of that, he would get up and say it himself. Instead, he states a few falsehoods and then goes into hiding; he cannot defend his own position. He is spreading false information when he says investment is up. Let me quote verbatim from Statistics Canada, the Liberals’ own government stats agency: “Business capital investment fell 0.7% in the first quarter of 2026, the fifth consecutive quarterly decline.” Does this meet the master economist’s definition of a technical recession, yes or no?”

• Little substance
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  Opposition question in Question Period

  Signal 42 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“The Prime Minister will not defend his record. His policies, heavy spending, and new government agencies have pushed Canada into a recession. I want him to explain why our economic growth per person is the lowest in the G7.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot even get up and defend his economic record as it is so bad. Instead, he has one of his backbenchers explain that the Liberals are spending billions and billions of dollars on new bureaucracies they have set up. That is exactly why the economy is in a recession. It is because he has continued on with the same Liberal policies of the last 10 years: the same anti-development laws, the same expansion of bureaucracy, the same corporate welfare, 12 new government agencies, and Canadians paying the bill with higher and higher prices. We all know that Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. Can he explain why Canada has the lowest per capita GDP growth in the G7?”

“Canada is the only major economy in a recession, and our growth per person is the lowest in the G7. The Prime Minister's decisions caused this, and his excuses do not make sense.”

“Mr. Speaker, the government’s excuses for the Liberal recession kept changing. First, they said it was world factors. Then we pointed out that none of the other G20 countries are in a recession. Mexico, which shares a border with the U.S. and is fully integrated with the U.S. economy, is not in a recession. Only this country, under this Liberal Prime Minister, is in a recession. His explanation yesterday was, “We see some weakness, in part because of clear decisions by the government.” That at least is fair. He claims that we are not bringing enough immigration. If that is the case, why is it that Canada has the lowest per capita GDP growth of any G7 country?”

“Canada is in a recession and people are losing their jobs. The Prime Minister is not showing up to answer questions. I want the government to tell us if we are in a technical recession or a real recession.”

“Mr. Speaker, it has now been almost a week after Stats Canada reported that Canada had the only recession in the G20. The Prime Minister has been in hiding ever since. He has the worst attendance record in question period. While Canadians are losing their jobs, he will not even show up to do his job. I ask questions on behalf of Zahra, Jacqueline, Brad, Kevin, Nathan and countless others who do not know how they are going to pay their bills. Will the Liberals stand up for once, own up for once and tell us, are we in a technical recession or a real recession? Which is it?”

“The Prime Minister's policies made a few rich people wealthier while hurting everyday Canadians and pushing our economy into a recession. He needs to face the people who are struggling and explain himself.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is the same pattern with the Prime Minister every time. He gets a fancy title, and he turns it into an absolute disaster. A tiny group of insiders get fabulously rich making everyone else poor, and when it comes time to be accountable, he goes into hiding, not even able to respond to the Canadians who wrote letters about their economic desperation, with Canada being the only G20 country in recession. Nathan from Ontario lost his job and is not sure how he is going to cover expenses for his type 1 diabetes, as severance money is now running out. Will the Prime Minister have the decency and the courage to look Nathan in the eye and tell him—”

“I want the Prime Minister to answer my question himself. A small business owner in Sarnia is worried about going bankrupt because high costs are hurting his business. Canada is in a recession, and I want the Prime Minister to tell this man what he plans to do.”

“Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister. If he actually cared about the people who wrote these letters, he would stand up and answer the questions himself instead of having a member get up to condemn slogans and then list five of them in a row. Here is another letter, which is from Thomas in Sarnia. He runs a painting business, but is now stuck in a bind. The cost of his paints are too high to keep his prices low, and if his prices are too high, nobody can afford to hire him. He is worried he is going to lose his business. This is the human cost of being the only country in the G20 that is in a recession. Will the Prime Minister tell Thomas if this just a technical recession? Is he technically on the verge of bankruptcy?”

“Canada is the only G20 country heading into a recession, and I blame the government for it. High costs are hurting people. I want the Prime Minister to tell us if we are in a recession.”

“Mr. Speaker, when there is only one country in the G20 facing a recession, while all the other countries face the same wars and tariffs, then we know it is appropriate to blame the Liberal government. The member talks about glee. Jacqueline has no glee. She actually had to put her dog down because she cannot afford the veterinary bills along with the inflation in her food, her rent and her gas. If the Prime Minister actually cares about Jacqueline, will he stand up and answer the question? Are we in a recession or a technical recession? Which is it?”

“Canada is the only country in the G7 and G20 in a recession, and people are losing their homes and savings. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians if our recession is technical or real?”

“Mr. Speaker, the question is for the Prime Minister about the real human cost of Canada being the only country in the G7, and in the G20, that is in a recession. Brad from Ontario wrote me to say that his family hung on during the Trudeau years, but since the Liberal Prime Minister took over, he is at risk of losing everything. He sold his home and had to get rid of all of the savings he had accumulated for his retirement. Will the Prime Minister have the decency to stand up, look Brad in the eye and tell Brad if we are in a technical recession or a real recession?”

“The Prime Minister caused a recession that made people lose their jobs and homes. I want him to stop joking about their suffering and answer for it.”

“Mr. Speaker, this is not a joke. This is a woman’s life. The Prime Minister has given us the only recession in the G20, and he stands up and starts joking about her state of affairs. She is sleeping on someone’s couch. Will the Prime Minister stop being so flippant about the suffering that he has caused in the lives of Canadians and tell Zahra whether her homelessness and joblessness are just a technicality?”

“Canada is in a recession, and people are losing their jobs and homes. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?”

“Mr. Speaker, my question for the Prime Minister is about the human cost of Canada being the only G20 country in the recession. Zahra from Toronto lost her administrative job at a real estate business. She cannot find a new job, and now has to sleep on a friend’s couch. What is the Prime Minister going to tell her, if he cares enough to stand up and answer? Is he going to tell her that she is just technically homeless and technically jobless?”

“The Prime Minister caused a recession that hurts regular Canadians while big companies profit. I want him to tell the House if we are in a recession.”

“Mr. Speaker, obviously the multinational corporations he is profiting are very pleased with the way things are going. As for the Canadian people, who are living under his recession, it is another story. They have not had $200,000-meals on three private flights. They do not have tax havens so they can shelter from the high tax burden he imposes on everyone else. He cannot even bring himself to utter the word “recession,” even though the tech spec definition tells us that he is the only Prime Minister, the only leader in the G20, who has created one. Will the Prime Minister stand in the House and answer this question: Are we in a recession or a technical recession?”