In a statement to reporters, Pierre Poilievre said the controversial comments were directed at former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tried Monday to soften controversial remarks he made about the RCMP after days of accusations he’d gone too far.
In a statement e-mailed to reporters early Monday afternoon, he professed his support to rank-and-file police officers, and said he stood by them – but not their former boss.
“My comments were directed to former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki who has a lengthy track record of publicly documented scandals, deception and political interference to the benefit of the Liberal government,” Mr. Poilievre said.
“We called for her resignation. We stand by that call to this day.”
The statement was an unusual instance of Mr. Poilievre working to clarify controversial comments and came after pushback even from within his own party.
Campbell Clark: Pierre Poilievre’s casual accusation of an RCMP cover-up is stunning
Mr. Poilievre’s original remarks about the RCMP were made in a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Northern Perspectives last week.
In answer to a question about scandals under the Liberal government, Mr. Poilievre said many of them should have involved jail time.
“If the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for him, then he would have been criminally charged,” Mr. Poilievre said of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
He then said “the leadership of the RCMP is frankly just despicable when it comes to enforcing laws against the Liberal government.”
His Monday statement made no reference to his comments about Mr. Trudeau.
Ms. Lucki served as RCMP commissioner between 2018 and 2023. The Globe and Mail could not immediately reach her for comment.
The two incidents Mr. Poilievre cited in the interview were the 2019 SNC-Lavalin affair and Mr. Trudeau’s 2016 trip to the Aga Khan’s private island.
Mr. Trudeau was found in breach of ethics laws for that trip, but the RCMP did not pursue criminal charges, nor did they in the SNC-Lavalin scandal.
Justin Trudeau was found to have breached ethics laws for his 2016 trip to the Aga Khan’s private island.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Mr. Poilievre’s statement was sent out Monday as he tried to press the Liberals during Question Period but they parried back with questions of their own on his comments.
“The Leader of the Opposition put into question the independence of our judiciary, the independence of our prosecutors, of the police, in fact, the very police that put their lives on the line to protect him,” House Leader Steven MacKinnon said.
“The leader has the next 30 seconds to make amends, to apologize, to tell the people of this chamber and this house that he is sorry for what he said. We don’t do that in Canada.”
Mr. Poilievre did not apologize. He accused the Liberals of “trying to distract from their inflation and rising cost of living by talking about their corruption.”
Monday marked the return of the House of Commons after a Thanksgiving break, and the start of what will be a frenetic few weeks: the Liberals are set to deliver their first budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney on Nov. 4.
Mr. Poilievre’s office had previously sought to explain the leader’s remarks last week in language similar to that used by him in Monday’s statement.
His office also noted a past instance of Ms. Lucki appearing to have acted to protect the government, in the aftermath of the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia; the Conservatives had previously called for her resignation in connection with that issue.
But, the decision was taken to issue a statement in Mr. Poilievre’s name after earlier efforts to tamp down the criticism failed, and his remarks were given renewed attention by Dimitri Soudas, who once served as spokesperson for former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.
Mr. Soudas wrote an op-ed published Friday by the Toronto Star, in which he said Mr. Poilievre was dismantling the “principled, serious and credible Conservative Party Harper worked so hard to lead and bring to power.”
His juxtaposition of Mr. Poilievre’s approach with Mr. Harper’s in turn prompted a statement from the former prime minister’s current chief of staff.
“This article does not reflect former Prime Minister Harper’s views. Mr. Soudas does not speak on behalf of Mr. Harper,” Anna Tomala wrote on social media.
Mr. Poilievre more often doubles down when attacked for controversial remarks.
While running for leadership of the party in 2022, he said he’d fire Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, accusing the bank of doing the bidding of the Liberal government.
When criticized for wanting to politically interfere with the independent central bank, he stood by his comments and said the bank should be held accountable for contributing to the post-pandemic inflation.