Conservative Leader, Andrew Scheer, announced today that Ottawa Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre will be the official finance critic (Shadow Minister of Finance).
Poilievre said the appointment is a great honour adding “I will have three main priorities in the new role. First, I will fight Liberal tax increases. The Trudeau government has raised taxes on home heating, beer, gas, wages, and small business and it has only been two years. Most of these tax hikes are regressive, hurting people who least can afford it. Second, I will fight for a return to a balanced budget. The government is forcing middle class taxpayers to fund interest on government debt providing a steady stream of income to wealthy bondholders."
Poilievre said his third priority is "to oppose government handouts to the undeserved rich. Taxpayer-funded bailouts of incompetent corporate executives, loan guarantees to shield billionaire investors from financial risk and interest payments on growing government debt all have one thing in common: they take from working class taxpayers to give to the super-rich. That widens inequality, deepens poverty and is just plain wrong. Conservatives will oppose welfare for the wealthy and propose free market alternatives that free people from poverty, ensure it pays to work, and allow everyone to get ahead on merit.”
Poilievre was first elected in 2004 and has been re-elected four times (2006, 2008, 2011, and 2015).He has long been a bur in the side of both the Liberals and NDP. While in government between 2004 and 2015, Poilievre served in key roles including as Parliamentary Secretary to John Baird, the President of the Treasury Board and to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
In 2013 Poilievre was appointed to Cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Minister of State for Democratic Reform. His appointment as Shadow Finance Critic means ensures that Poilievre will play a key role in rebutting the Trudeau government agenda when Parliament returns and shows he has the full confidence of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. Poilievre's reputation for hard work and for having a strong constituency presence made him the only Conservative MP in the national capital region who was able to hold back the Trudeau "sunny ways" tide in the 2015 election. He won re-election in the Carleton riding by just over 2000 votes.
Poilievre remains a popular and outspoken local MP and his appointment to the important Shadow Finance Critic post should solidify his national reputation as one of the most influential Conservatives in Canada.
