- Pierre Poilievre has emerged as the Canadians’ preferred choice as prime minister and his party is leading in some opinion polls for the general elections in 2025.
- The leader of the Conservative Party in Canada has slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the diplomatic row with India.
- He has also promised that he will restore a “professional relationship” with India if his party comes to power.
- Justin Trudeau is considered a laughing stock in India, the world’s biggest democracy- comments Pierre Poilievre.
- President Biden is walking all over Trudeau and treating him like a doormat and slapping him around like a rag doll,” the opposition leader remarked.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, is favoured to become the next PM as his party is leading the incumbent Liberal Party by over double digits Canada’s opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has assured the Indian community in his country that he will restore a “professional relationship” with India if he becomes the next Prime Minister.
Poilievre also condemned the “aggression shown” to Indian diplomats stationed in Canada and the growing Hindu phobia in the country.
In an interview with a Nepalese media outlet, Poilievre said, “We need a professional relationship with the Indian government. India is the largest democracy on Earth. It’s fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when I’m Prime Minister of this country.”
When asked about the removal of 41 Canadian diplomats from India, Poilievre said, “This is another example of how Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost after eight long years. He’s turned Canadians against each other at home and he’s blown up our relations abroad. He’s so incompetent and unprofessional that now we are in major disputes with almost every major power in the world, and that includes India.”
Poilievre also condemned the pro-Khalistan car rallies on Saturday in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver to India’s missions. A Hindu temple was also targeted the night before, as the Vaishno Devi Hindu temple in the town of Abbotsford in British Columbia was desecrated with anti-India posters.
“Conservatives share the Hindu values of faith, family, and freedom. Freedom includes the ability of worship without fear or without vandalization and I strongly condemn all the attacks on Hindu mandirs, threats against Hindu leaders, the aggression shown to, for example, Indian diplomats at public events is totally unacceptable,” he said.
According to the latest polls, Poilievre is favoured to become the next Canadian PM as his party is leading the incumbent Liberal Party by over double digits and is in majority territory.
The relationship between India and Canada has been at its lowest ebb since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the parliament last month that his government had “credible allegations” linking the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June with the “agents of the Government of India”.
Canada said on Thursday that it had withdrawn 41 diplomats from India, claiming that India planned to “unethically” revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of its diplomats and that doing so would be “contrary to international law”.
(With inputs from agencies)