Charest condemns leadership rival Poilievre's convoy, crypto, climate policies

Doubling down on his condemnation of his Conservative leadership rival, Jean Charest says that Pierre Poilievre should be disqualified from becoming leader of the federal Conservative party over his support of the 'Freedom Convoy,' and called his position on cryptocurrency 'bizarre.'

“Everyone knows that Pierre Poilievre supported the blockade,” Charest said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period. “If you say to Canadians: ‘I want to be the leader of the Conservative Party and I want to be the chief legislator of the country, but I don't have to obey the laws,’ I'm sorry. That's not just a failure in leadership. It disqualifies you, as far as I'm concerned, as being someone who thinks or aspires to be a leader of a party.”

The anti-vaccine and anti-government protests occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks this winter, leading to hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars in policing and other costs for the city. The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time ever, and the province and city declared states of emergency.

Poilievre, who represents the Ottawa riding of Carleton, visited the truckers at stops on their way into Ottawa and voiced his support throughout, but there is no indication that Poilievre disobeyed any laws in his support for the “Freedom Convoy” protests. Poilievre has already been authorized as an official candidate by the party, as have Charest and a handful of others.

“He supported the blockade. There's consequences to those decisions. And one of the consequences is that he should not be a leader of a party, even less a prime minister,” Charest said, noting that the protests led to businesses having to close, costing people their jobs.