“MAGA Republican politics now resides in the Conservative Party of Canada”

Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen stood up in the House of Commons on Tuesday to chastise the opposition for voting against the Ukraine free trade agreement, stating that “MAGA Republican politics now resides in the Conservative Party of Canada.” Pierre Poilievre and his party voted against the deal because, Poilievre alleged, it would “impose a carbon tax on the people of Ukraine.” The trade deal doesn’t commit either country to a carbon tax, instead suggesting that both Canada and Ukraine are expected “to promote carbon pricing and measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks.”

Gerretsen called the objection to the deal over “carbon tax” (which the Conservatives vehemently object to in Canada) a red herring, quoting an international trade lawyer who described this concern as “petty and hyper-partisan.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky signed the treaty in September, and Bill C-57, the legislation underpinning it, passed yesterday’s vote 205-109, with support from the Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc Québécois and the Greens.

The treaty is an update of a deal first negotiated by Stephen Harper’s government in 2016.

BREAKING: It’s official. MAGA Republican politics now resides in the Conservative Party of Canada. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/TpsFQXfYfO

— Mark Gerretsen 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 (@MarkGerretsen) November 21, 2023

---

For our latest in news, please visit the News section.