Asked on Monday about the new transgender health and education policies proposed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pointed a finger at Justin Trudeau. The prime minister, Poilievre said, was using a provincial policy to distract Canadians.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused the federal Liberals of trying to manufacture a wedge issue from Alberta's proposed new gender policies.
But that's how things work in a representative democracy. Political leaders tend to gravitate toward issues they feel strongly about and that align with the concerns of the voters they're trying to reach. In the same interview, Poilievre said he thought "schools should get back to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic" and reminded his interviewer that he'd told Trudeau to "butt out" of policies proposed in
Housing, for instance, is largely the responsibility of provinces and municipalities. Poilievre has said that federal transfers to municipalities should be withheld if they don't approve as much housing construction as he thinks they should. During his news conference on Tuesday, he criticized a specific land-use decision made by the city of Winnipeg.
"That safe space, at least for me, gave me a really amazing place to connect with other people like me, and talk through our shared experience. And also, it just gave me the space to really explore my identity and who I want to be as a transgender woman," Akira Hesslein said.