Poilievre says Carney “doesn’t care about the West”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on the Liberal Party of Canada to “scrap its ridiculous ban on gas vehicles.”

Source: X

Author: Alex Zoltan

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on the Liberal Party of Canada to “scrap its ridiculous ban on gas vehicles.”

His call came while speaking on Thursday during a press conference at Corman Park, Sask.

Specifically, Poilievre referenced the Liberals’ “Zero-Emission Vehicle sales targets” program, which seeks to ban the sale of all new gas- or diesel-powered cars, SUVs and pickup trucks by 2035 — a move that Poilievre has previously called “completely bananas.”

As noted by Poilievre, and as previously reported by Juno News, one of the initial steps the Liberal government has taken is to implement a proposed 20 per cent surcharge tax on newly purchased gas-powered vehicles.

Prior to the proposed implementation of a 20 per cent tax on gas-powered vehicles, the Liberal government had propped up EV sales through a massive taxpayer-funded subsidy program.

According to an undated internal federal government document, the Liberals were aware that their decision to end electric vehicle subsidies would result in an “immediate” decline in sales.

Notably—and, apparently, predictably—nationwide sales of EVs collapsed on the phasing out of those subsidies.

Between December 2024 and January 2025, EV sales fell by over 41.6 per cent according to Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, sales of other fuel-type vehicles in March 2025 showed no sign of slowing down.

The opposition leader also took an opportunity on Thursday to address new Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola products — a topic likely relevant to the Saskatchewan farmers in attendance.

“So far, Mark Carney has said nothing about canola — it’s as if he doesn’t care about western Canadian producers,” Poilievre said.

The Conservative leader added that Carney is “giving a billion dollars in shipbuilding contracts through a taxpayer-funded loan to the Chinese government” — something he called “crazy.”

“I think we should look at ways to penalize the regime in Beijing for targeting our farmers,” Poilievre argued.

When asked by a reporter whether he thought the Carney government would have taken a more hands-on approach had the tariffs affected Quebec or Ontario, Poilievre replied, “Of course. This Liberal government couldn’t care less about the West.”

“I had my team check his Twitter account,” Poilievre said, “and he hasn’t Tweeted a single thing about canola. Yet, he’s been able to Tweet about ‘International Cat Day.’ Isn’t that nice?”