Trudeau says Poilievre urging EV tariff is baloney as industry awaits decision – National [Video]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attacked a pledge by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles by 100 per cent, but Trudeau did not answer when asked why his government hasn’t moved sooner on introducing a surtax.

“It’s a bit of a joke that Poilievre is suddenly talking about workers in the industry,” Trudeau said at a funding announcement for the EV industry in eastern Ontario Monday.

“For (Poilievre) to suddenly turn around and say, ‘Oh, we’re worried about EVs,’ that’s baloney. He’s looking for a political angle. Because that’s all he does,” the prime minister said.

Trudeau also said if Poilievre is elected, he would cut investments in Canada’s EV industry, a sector that continues to receive massive government subsidies.

“He’d be cutting our investments in EVs, in building an extraordinary EV supply chain in Canada, something we’ve been doing as a government,” said the prime minister.