The leader of the Conservative Party made his way to Cambridge before a big event in Kitchener this evening where over 2,100 people have registered to hear the opposition leader speak at an "Axe the Tax" rally.
In front of a home on Old Mill Road in Blair, Pierre Poilievre spoke to media and gave his take on the economy, international students and the war in the Middle East.
Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of corruption and costing Canadians billions of dollars with what he called, criminal and corrupt spending.
"The government is rich, and the people are poor," said Poilievre. "After eight years, Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost. He has added over $600 billion of inflationary debt more debt than all prior prime ministers combined, doubling our debt."
He said the current government's plans to quadruple the carbon tax will put further strain on the economy and put people on the streets, adding to the homelessness crisis.
"I will axe the tax, but in the meantime, until such time as we can have a carbon tax election when I will propose a compromise," he said.
Poilievre demands Trudeau's government not raise the carbon tax, bring down interest rates, balance the budget and build more homes.
"We have the fewest homes per capita in the G7 even though we have the most land to build on. Let's get building now. So that our youth, our working class, and our newcomers can put roof overhead. This is common sense," added Poilievre.
He also accuses the Liberal government of taking jobs away from over 1,500 Canadians and giving them to temporary foreign workers.
"A Poilievre government will make sure that every time the government supports jobs in Canada, it will be exclusively for Canadians," he said.
Fielding questions from the media, the conservative leader was asked if his government would address the crisis international students are facing around the country.
International students here in Cambridge have been forced to live in unstable and sometimes unsafe living conditions and have been accessing local food banks and community kitchens at an unprecedented rate.
Poilievre notes he wants to put measures in place to prevent colleges and corporations from taking advantage of these students, effectively bringing them into a life of poverty.
"Students now come here find out that their educational institution is a fraud, that they don't have a home that they can't pay their bills that they're stuck going to the food bank," said Poilievre.
"International students have been forced to live under bridges and on streets, beg for food, sell themselves into prostitution and gangsterism and overdose on drugs. They came here with a dream that turned into a nightmare."
He proposes a plan that would verify that every student who comes here has a a real admission letter from a real educational institution, have a home that they can identify with an address before they arrive and have proof that they can sustain themselves with savings or with a job letter that proves they are making adequate wages.
Poilievre was also asked about Muslim communities in Canada calling for an Israeli ceasefire in Gaza to prevent innocent children and civilians from dying.
Poilievre took the chance to condemn Hamas and their attack on Oct 7, calling them a, "terrorist death cult that is determined to maximize the death and suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis."
"Hamas is once again savaging the Palestinian people, attacking innocent civilians in Gaza. Hamas broke the ceasefire or with its unprovoked attack on Oct. 7 and Hamas has made it clear that it will not accept a ceasefire that will go on seeking genocide against the people of Israel, while oppressing the people of Gaza."
He calls for the defeat of Hamas, saying that Israel has every right to protect themselves. He also calls for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian government, to be designated a terrorist organization and their officers expelled from Canada.
"Let's be clear, the tyrants of Tehran are behind this war. They're the ones that coordinated it. They're the ones that paid for it," he said.
Poilievre is on a tour around southern Ontario as he heads to his 'Axe the Tax' event at Bingemans in Kitchener this evening.
