Conservatives Reject Liberal Claim That They Abandoned Ukraine

The prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks during a joint press conference with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 10, 2023. (Alexey Furman/Getty Images)

The federal Conservatives are pushing back against Liberal accusations that they have abandoned Ukraine by voting against a bill that would implement an updated Canada–Ukraine trade deal after party Leader Pierre Poilievre argued that it would impose a carbon tax on the country.

“Liberals renegotiated the Canada-Ukraine free trade deal, and they wanted to add, unbelievably, a carbon tax,” said Conservative MP and international development critic Garnett Genuis on X. “Conservatives think Ukraine needs weapons. Liberals think Ukraine needs a carbon tax.”

Mr. Genuis said the Conservatives had attempted to propose a motion to the bill expanding its scope to make it easier to sell weapons to Ukraine, but it was rejected by the Liberals. “The bottom line is that the Ukrainian army needs guns and bullets to use to kill Russian soldiers. That’s how war works. No amount of good intentions and flowery speeches and performative allyship are going to get around that simple reality,” he said.

After the Conservatives unanimously voted against Bill C-57, also known as the modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, on Nov. 21, Mr. Poilievre said it was a show of opposition against language in the negotiated agreement that says both countries will “promote carbon pricing.”

“I really think that it speaks to how pathologically obsessed Trudeau is with the carbon tax, that while the knife is at the throat of Ukrainians, he would use that to impose his carbon tax ideology on those poor people. The last thing they need is a carbon tax when they’re trying to rebuild from war from this illegal invasion by Russia,” he told reporters before heading into question period on Nov. 22.

The text of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine states that the two countries will “cooperate bilaterally and in international forums” in order to, among other things, “promote carbon pricing and measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks.” It does not include provisions forcing the country to impose a tax.

Canadian officials have also said that the carbon-pricing language in the agreement—which Ukraine’s president signed during his September visit to Ottawa—is not legally binding.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have accused the Tories of following in the footsteps of some U.S. Republicans, who have signalled they want to give less support for assisting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia. Mr. Trudeau said on Nov. 24 that the Conservatives withdrew their support for the agreement due to the influence of “right-wing American” thinking.

During question period on Nov. 24, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux said the party’s decision to vote against the trade deal was an indication that the “far-right element of Canada has actually taken over the Conservative party today.”

The national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an advocacy organization for local Ukrainian communities, also said he hoped the Tories would reconsider their position.

“The Ukrainian Canadian Congress was disappointed that the official Opposition unanimously voted against legislation that would update the Canada Ukraine Free Trade Agreement,” Alexandra Chyczij said in a statement. “We call on the official Opposition to revisit this position before third reading.”