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International Trade

In Question Period on international trade, the Conservatives asked about U.S. tariffs, saying the Prime Minister calls the tariffs damaging but is willing to wait years to resolve them, and they asked that the government send the trade minister back to Washington to negotiate now. They also pointed to job losses in recent months and said Canada’s negotiators made concessions without defined terms before walking away. The Liberals replied that the government is creating thousands of jobs in provinces across the country and said the Conservatives talk down Canada instead of helping build it. Most of the exchange consisted of these competing statements about jobs and negotiations.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

5 statements

Shuvaloy Majumdar

Conservative

Linked statement

“The Prime Minister says these tariffs hurt our economy, but also says we can wait two more years to deal with them. Both cannot be true. These tariffs are already hurting steelworkers, lumber towns, and millions of families. I want him to clearly state his plan today instead of playing politics.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister blames this economy on the president’s tariffs, and then turns around and says that we can wait the president out for another two and a half years. Both cannot be true. These tariffs are either serious enough that he walked away from negotiations and left Canadians to absorb the costs, or mild enough to wait it out until 2029. He should tell that to the steelworker whose shift was cut, tell that to the lumber town for which the mill was the town and tell that to the two million families living with uncertainty. Will he pick a lane today, or will he keep exploiting the pain of our people for by-election politics?

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Tim Hodgson

Liberal
“The Prime Minister is creating jobs in Canada while the opposition is not, including 8,000 jobs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, what our Prime Minister has been doing is helping create jobs in this country when they are not doing it, like the 8,000 jobs in— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Tim Hodgson

Liberal
“The Prime Minister is creating thousands of jobs across the country. Conservatives only complain instead of helping create jobs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, what our Prime Minister is doing is helping create jobs in this country, like the 8,000 new jobs in Montreal, the 18,000 new jobs in Darlington, the 20,000 new jobs in Pickering and the 8,000 new jobs in Kitimat. All the Conservatives do is talk down this country. They are the pirates of pessimism. Why do they not help build some jobs in this country?

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Shuvaloy Majumdar

Conservative
“Canada lost over 100,000 jobs in the last two months, and the Prime Minister has failed in talks with other countries. I want him to send his trade minister back to Washington now instead of making two million workers wait.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we have lost over 100,000 jobs over the last two months. Canadians elected a negotiator. Instead, they got Beijing’s new world order and, at Davos, a world in rupture, with concession after concession. We got a negotiation from weakness on terms he did not define, and then he walked away on terms he still hides. He was rebuffed by Britain over the defence bank and rebuffed by France and Germany at a nothing summit. He called by-elections; then he called President Trump. It is grand theatre, with nothing for taxed and tariffed jobs. Will the Prime Minister return his minister to Washington or make two million workers wait two and a half years because Liberals put politics and party ahead of the country?

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Tim Hodgson

Liberal
“The Prime Minister is building up Canada, not talking it down. We are creating jobs across the country, and the Conservatives should try creating some too.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister will do is not talk down Canada. He will build Canada. That is why we are creating jobs. We are creating jobs in Newfoundland, jobs in Nova Scotia, jobs in Quebec, jobs in Manitoba, jobs in Alberta and jobs in British Columbia. Why do the Conservatives not try to create a job or two?

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