Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is once again making his case directly to Americans as Canada and the United States remain locked in a trade dispute fuelled by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
During an interview with CNBC in New York on Thursday, Poilievre said Canadians are united in opposing the tariffs and argued the two countries should be working together to address shared economic and geopolitical challenges.
"America has legitimate grievances with other countries around the world, and those rivals and risks are slowly mounting," he said.
Poilievre avoids criticizing Carney in U.S. interview
The appearance came as questions continue to swirl around the collapse of the latest round of trade negotiations between Canada and the United States.
Talks ended Aug. 22 when Canada walked away from the negotiating table. Since then, Trump and senior members of his administration have argued Canada introduced last-minute demands that prevented an agreement before the president's deadline.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney has defended Canada's position, saying negotiators were "not prepared to compromise Canada’s sovereignty or undermine our key industries."
Asked by CNBC hosts whether Carney had been acting in good faith during the negotiations, Poilievre declined to attack the prime minister while speaking in the United States.
"I would not attack my prime minister on foreign soil," he said.
Pressed on who was responsible for the breakdown in negotiations, Poilievre noted that the United States imposed tariffs on Canada before relations deteriorated further.
"My mission here is to fight for my country, not to score political points domestically," he said.
Calling for closer North American co-operation
Poilievre returned to a message he has delivered previously during visits to Texas and New York earlier this year, arguing that the deep relationship between Canadians and Americans remains the best path to resolving the dispute.
Asked how Canadians are reacting to the escalating tariffs, Poilievre described a mix of frustration and uncertainty.
"We feel a little bit wounded. We're kind of confused as to how it is, suddenly, that Canada ended up in the crosshairs."
He also stressed the economic potential of greater continental co-operation.
"We could build an incredible North American fortress with the resources that we have on this continent, but it's going to take a collaborative, positive relationship to do it," he said.
Mixed messages from Conservative ranks
Poilievre's conciliatory tone contrasted sharply with comments made Thursday by some members of his caucus.
Conservative MP Roman Baber criticized the Liberal government's handling of the negotiations in a post on X.
"Mark Carney killed the deal for political gain. Then he lied about it," Baber wrote.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, who has travelled to Washington to meet senior officials in the Trump administration, including Vice-President JD Vance, posted a video accusing the Liberals of taking political advantage of the trade conflict.
In the video, Jivani said the government is "exploiting a crisis for its political benefit, to act like it's above accountability and scrutiny," and claimed it did the same thing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"And you have people who should be offering an alternative to the Liberals instead going out there to appease people in positions of power," he said.
Jivani also argued that "we have 11 years of evidence that Liberal policies are failing Canada."
- with files from The Canadian Press
