PM Trudeau gives Poilievre credit for tapping into Canadians' concerns about affordability

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving his main political rival credit for tapping into Canadians' concerns about affordability, but says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lacks workable solutions.

In a year-end interview with CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton, Trudeau agreed that Poilievre tapped into affordability concerns well before the Liberals.

"It does seem, though, that Pierre Poilievre understood that [affordability concern] and tapped into that long before you did," Barton told the prime minister.

"It's not that he understood that," Trudeau said in response. "It's that he's done a really effective job of reflecting that back and amplifying that to people."

• CBC News Special: Year-End Interview with the Prime Minister airs on Monday, Dec. 25 at 11:30 a.m. (12 p.m. in Newfoundland) on CBC Television.

Canada has experienced heightened inflation during the past year, in part driven by higher food prices.

Since being elected Conservative leader in the fall of 2022, Poilievre has put affordability at the centre of his political message and has used inflation and interest rate hikes to attack the Liberals.

Poilievre's message appears to be resonating with voters; most recent polls put the Conservatives well ahead of the Liberals.

Asked if he thinks voters have soured on the LIberals' ideas and solutions, Trudeau said he isn't concerned because he doesn't think Poilievre is proposing solid alternatives.

"He's not putting any solutions on the table at all. The solutions he does venture forward, people — experts, not us — criticize as riddled with inaccuracies and unworkable and not going to solve the problem," he said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises to vote on a motion during a session in the House of Commons on Friday, December 8, 2023. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Asked if his Liberals left room for Poilievre and the Conservatives to be more vocal about affordability issues, Trudeau said his government has pursued a variety of different measures to address those same issues.

He pointed to last summer's grocery rebate, the child-care deals Ottawa has struck with provinces and changes to the Competition Act meant to boost competition in the grocery sector.

"The things that we are doing are meaningful and real and thoughtful and we're busy doing them, not just taking out YouTube space [or] amplifying those concerns," he said.

In response to elevated inflation rates over the past year, the Bank of Canada brought its benchmark interest rate up to five per cent in July — the first time interest rates had hit that level since April 2001.

Interest rates have remained steady at five per cent since the summer, pushing housing affordability to the forefront of political issues in 2023.

Trudeau told Barton that younger Canadians are "rightly worried" about not being able to afford a home. He said it's something he takes "almost personally" because of the support younger voters gave his government in the 2015 election.

"A whole bunch of young people — who had never voted before, even into their early 20s — came out and supported us for the first time and the only time," he said. "We made a commitment to them. We were going to make things better even as we knew things were really really difficult."

While he agreed more needs to be done on housing, Trudeau said programs like the rapid housing initiative and the first time homebuyers' saving account will help younger Canadians afford homes.

When asked if he could be convinced to step aside as leader, given his party's recent struggle in the polls, Trudeau said the challenges the country is facing are pushing him to continue.

"I wouldn't be the person I am and be willing to walk away from this right now. There is so much important work to continue to do," he said.