Parliament returns with Poilievre back in the leader’s seat

OTTAWA — The start of the new fall session on Monday will see Prime Minister Mark Carney facing off against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons for the first time after Poilievre regained a seat over the summer.

Poilievre was defeated in his Ottawa-area riding of Carleton in April and therefore could not sit as leader of the Opposition during the short spring session that followed. However, he managed to get elected in one of the safest Conservative ridings of the country, Battle River—Crowfoot, on August 18 after one of his MPs, Damien Kurek, agreed to step down.

In a speech to his caucus on Sunday, Poilievre acknowledged the unusual circumstances that brought him back to his leader’s seat nearly five months after the election.

“I took a more scenic route through eastern Alberta and enjoyed every minute of it, but it is great to be back on the job, on Parliament Hill, doing the job that Canadians need done.”

Now that he is back in the saddle, Poilievre intends to hold Carney to the standards the prime minister set for himself and propose solutions on crime, immigration and housing among other things.

“He promised that after 10 years of Liberal government driving up costs and crime and chaos, that he would be different,” Poilievre said of Carney. “Yet, sadly, unemployment is worse. The cost of living is worse. Homebuilding is worse. Divisions are worse. The tariffs are worse. Crime is worse. Immigration is worse. That is not what Canadians voted for.”

Carney spent part of the summer taking away political ammunition from Poilievre by pausing the electric vehicle and reviewing more Trudeau-era climate initiatives, despite causing some frustration from his party’s left flank. He also made good on two campaign promises by setting up new entities: Major Projects Office and Build Canada Homes.

But the billions in new spending and a slower economy will lead to a substantially bigger deficit, according to Carney, who said on Sunday it would be “bigger than it was last year.”

Then, there is the issue of crime. Liberals know it cost them crucial seats in Ontario in the last election, so expect it to be one of their main legislative priorities this session.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser told reporters last week that he will be tabling “legislation dealing with intimidation and obstruction” of places of worship “in the very near future” and that legislation touching on bail reform could be coming as soon as next month.

Fraser also expects to table a third bill this session dealing with intimate partner violence and victims in the criminal justice process.

The goal, according to Liberal sources, is to secure some “easy wins” in the parliamentary process with issues that receive cross-partisan support and don’t cost too much money.

Whether Poilievre will be more collaborative — or less — in this fall session remains to be seen. But already, the Conservative leader has vowed to work with any party, even the governing Liberals, to “make this session a success for the Canadian people.”

“We will oppose things we’re against, support things we’re for, but we will also propose solutions to the problems Liberals have created,” he said.

Carney, for his part, might not be in the House of Commons as often as Poilievre would like as he continues his globetrotting this fall. The prime minister is expected to travel to Mexico later in the week and should be at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later in September, where he has promised to recognize Palestinian statehood.

National Post calevesque@postmedia.com

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.