Trudeau Answers Vox Populi Questions From Twitter, Focuses on Defending Record

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers an address at the Laurier Club Holiday Event, an event for supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada, in Gatineau, Que., on Dec. 15, 2022. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded on Dec. 29 to some of the questions he received on Twitter after he posted a video two weeks prior asking for them, with him focusing on driving key messages on live policy issues and debates.

“I asked for your questions, and you did not hold back – thanks for the thoughtful (and interesting…) questions, everyone!” says Trudeau’s Twitter account accompanying the video of his responses.

The video response was posted while Trudeau was vacationing in Jamaica.

As of Dec. 29, over 34,000 comments had been posted below Trudeau’s initial video asking for input from Canadians. Many of the questions were pointy if not vitriolic.

Trudeau steered clear of controversy with the questions he picked, but he did accuse those opposed to aspects of Bill C-21 of spreading “misinformation and disinformation.”

“I got a question on gun control, in French, asking if we were going to revoke or pull back C-21. The answer is no,” Trudeau said.

“The issue that’s come up for a lot of people, and I suspect Eric who sent in the question, is that there’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation from the Conservative Party and from the gun lobby about us going after hunting rifles and shotguns.”

Bill C-21 seeks, among other things, to write into law the current freeze on the transfer of handguns in the country. The government introduced amendments to the bill in late November to add a number of rifles used for hunting to the prohibited list, as well as an evergreen definition of what the government considers an “assault style” rifle.

The NDP, which has a deal with the Liberals to keep them in power until 2025, has come out against the amendments, and so has the Assembly of First Nations.

Trudeau also answered a question about what his government is doing to help first-time home buyers.

He mentioned the $40,000 tax free savings account that his government implemented that can be used to save for a down payment, as well as the measure that will come into force on Jan. 1 to make it harder for foreign buyers to purchase homes in Canada.

The Liberals added a number of exceptions to the measure by way of new regulations on Dec. 21, as such it won’t, for example, apply to property acquired by foreigners “resulting from death, divorce, separation or a gift.”

Trudeau was also asked what he would do to address Canadians struggling with the cost of living while his government is sending a lot of money overseas.

He criticized the previous government, some principles of capitalism, and a free economy.

“We took over from a Conservative Party that still believed, and actually sort of still believes, in the trickle down theory that if you give tax breaks and advantages to the wealthiest, to those who’ve been successful in the economy, they will turn around and create jobs and economic growth for everyone,” Trudeau said.

“It’s a nice idea if it worked, but it doesn’t.”

The prime minister says his approach of providing government support is better.

“What we’ve done over the past seven years is actually put more money in the pockets of people who need it.”

Trudeau also said that investing in places like Africa or South America on climate issues or plastic pollution would “benefit Canadians in indirect and direct ways.”

The prime minister also answered softball questions on when he’ll bring back the beard, what books he’s reading, or how dogs should wear pants.