Poilievre distances himself from MP's comments about anti-U.S. 'hissy fit'
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is distancing himself from comments made by one his MPs who told a right-wing U.S. news outlet that some in Canada were engaging in a “hissy fit” of anti-Americanism, which was counterproductive in trying to deal with the U.S.
Poilievre appeared before reporters on Tuesday and was asked whether he agreed with the assessment provided by Ontario MP Jamil Jivani to Breitbart News, following a visit to the White House where he met with senior administration members, including a brief conversation with U.S President Donald Trump.
“The answer is no,” Poilievre said. “Canadians are legitimately upset by the unjustifiable tariffs and comments that the president has made.”
Jivani discussed during his roughly 16-minute interview that aired on Saturday the reasons behind his recent trip to Washington, where he met with Vice President JD Vance, a personal friend of his.
He outlined his goal of wanting to help build more bridges between both countries, as they approach the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico-Agreement, saying he had extended a hand to Prime Minister Mark Carney of his willingness to help.
Several minutes into the interview, the host raised the anti-Trump sentiment that has gripped much of the country since Trump first slapped tariffs on Canadian goods last year, calling it “Trump derangement syndrome.” Jivani said he faced domestic backlash for travelling to Washington and meeting with Trump officials, with the Ontario MP singling out some comments made by Liberal MPs.
“We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we continue this anti-America… hissy fit, and this is the kind of reason I’m trying to talk into our government and some of the liberals who have just gone way off the reservation on this,” Jivani told the host.
Poilievre said on Tuesday that he had spoken to Jivani about his comments. The pair last spoke that day.
“My message is that Canadians are understandably upset about the tariffs and the the comments that president Trump has made, and that we need to focus on what we can do here at home,” Poilievre said.
The Conservative leader added that Jivani “speaks for himself and I speak for the party.”
He said he encourages all of his MPs to stand up for their ridings, saying that Jivani’s riding of Bowmanville—Oshawa North includes many autoworkers dealing with layoffs and the uncertainty of U.S. tariffs.
Jivani told National Post in an interview last week, before the interview with Breitbart News aired, that he had debriefed Poilievre about his trip, along with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and that he was ready to help the Carney government however he could.
Asked whether he believed his trip may have bothered any of his caucus colleagues, Jivani said at the time “that may be the case,” and “you’d have to ask people to give you their perspective,” but said he believed he had people’s trust to conduct myself “in a way that is in the best interest of our party.”
Poilievre’s comments on Tuesday came as he tries to navigate the Canada-U.S. issue, the emergence of which before last year’s federal election led some within the party to criticize him for not responding to fast enough, as the issue dealing with Trump became a central issue during the campaign.
National Post
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