A Plan For Canada / Un plan pour le Canada
The following is a transcript of the Hon. Pierre Poilievre’s remarks from April 2nd, 2025. Check against delivery. / Ce qui suit est une transcription du discours de l’honorable Pierre Poilievre du 2 avril 2025. Seul le discours prononcé fait foi :
Thank you, Caroline.
Votre service et celui de votre famille pour l’Ontario et le Canada sont une source d’inspiration, et votre amitié est précieuse. Je suis certain que votre père doit vous regarder avec grande fierté pour votre travail comme femme d’affaires, avocate et ministre.
Votre père est une grande source d’inspiration pour nous tous. Il était le champion du libre-échange entre le Canada et les États-Unis. Sa sagesse serait précieuse aujourd’hui et j’aimerais bien pouvoir lui parler au téléphone en ce moment pour obtenir ses conseils.
Your service to Ontario and your family’s service to Canada are an inspiration, and your friendship is invaluable. I know your father must look down on you with such pride for your work as a businesswoman, lawyer and minister that you have become.
Your father is a great inspiration to us all. As the founder of Canada-U.S. free trade, his wisdom today would be precious. Boy, I wish I could pick up the phone and seek his advice right now.
He would surely be proud of Canadians coming together to defend our sovereignty and our economy.
Canadians today feel angry and betrayed by the President’s unprovoked attacks on our sovereignty. We are left wondering how we can end the paralyzing uncertainty and what the future holds.
We do not know what today’s tariff announcement will bring, how long they will last and what they will do.
But whatever President Trump does, these things will remain true:
These tariffs are unjustified.
They will hurt people and businesses on both sides of the border,
And Canada will never be the 51st state.
But we need a plan going forward. A plan that is strong and effective in protecting our country.
I break that plan down into three parts:
- The immediate response.
- Tackling the dispute after the election.
- The long-term plan to build an economic fortress for Canada, so we are never vulnerable to these kinds of threats again.
Tout d’abord, notre réponse doit être immédiate. C’est pourquoi il faut imposer des tarifs réciproques pour décourager les attaques américaines injustifiées.
On doit aussi se préparer aux impacts des tarifs. Notre réponse doit avoir pour priorité de maintenir notre économie fonctionnelle et nos travailleurs à l’emploi. Une fois que le lien est brisé entre un travailleur et son employeur – c’est beaucoup plus difficile de le rétablir.
C’est pourquoi un nouveau gouvernement conservateur lancera un Fonds pour la protection des emplois canadiens, un programme de prêts ciblés et temporaires pour les entreprises directement touchées – pour les aider à garder leurs travailleurs.
First, our immediate response should be to impose reciprocal tariffs to discourage the American attacks.
We must also be prepared for the impact and our response must make it a priority to keep our industry moving and our workers working. Once the link between an employee and their job is broken, it is hard to get it back.
That is why a Conservative government will launch a Keep Canadians Working Fund, a targeted, temporary loan program for businesses directly hit, helping them keep workers on the job.
But what next?
Where do we go from there?
The second part is a plan to try and end this trade dispute. There is no guarantee. But we must try.
Dès le premier jour de mon mandat comme premier ministre, je vais proposer au président Trump d’accélérer les négociations pour conclure un nouvel accord sur le commerce et la sécurité et remplacer l’Accord Canada-États-Unis-Mexique.
L’Accord actuel doit être renégocié l’année prochaine. Ce n’est pas une question de savoir si ça doit être fait, mais quand !
Alors – pourquoi pas le faire le plus rapidement possible ? Pour qu’on puisse éliminer l’incertitude des tarifs qui pèse sur nos travailleurs.
On day one as Prime Minister, I will propose to the President to accelerate renegotiations to replace CUSMA, bringing in a new deal on trade and security. CUSMA must be renegotiated next year regardless. It is not if but when. So why not get it done fast?
We should set a firm deadline to finalize a deal.
And I will propose that both countries pause tariffs while we try to hammer out a deal. Keeping destructive tariffs kills jobs on both sides of the border and serves no purpose.
It does not make sense to continue killing jobs, disrupting markets, and weakening both of our economies with on-again-off-again tariffs for months on end. Canadian businesses and workers need certainty now. In the meantime, during renegotiations, the suspension of tariffs would have to go both ways.
As for the deal itself, any good negotiator would say you don’t show your cards before you start, but Canadians have a right to know my red lines.
Premièrement, je vais protéger notre frontière, nos ressources, nos fermiers – y compris ceux qui sont soumis à la gestion de l’offre. On va aussi protéger notre eau douce et nos travailleurs dans l’industrie de l’automobile.
Je tiens aussi à souligner – qu’il est hors de question de négocier sur notre souveraineté.
Nos lois, notre dollar, notre territoire, notre eau, notre ciel, notre culture, nos langues officielles, nos ressources naturelles et nos droits autochtones resteront sous notre contrôle – pour toujours.
Mark Carney et Donald Trump sont unis dans leur opposition à la protection de la langue française. Les États-Unis n’ont pas le droit de dicter nos lois linguistiques, ou aucunes lois canadiennes. Le Canada est un pays fier et souverain.
Ce n’est pas négociable ! On va protéger notre souveraineté.
Deuxièmement, je m’engage à ce que tous les revenus que le Canada tirera d’un accord commercial élargi entre les États-Unis et le Canada servent à renforcer notre armée, à respecter nos engagements envers l’OTAN et à être un partenaire fiable pour nos alliés.
On ne doit pas simplement le faire pour plaire au président Trump – mais parce que c’est la bonne chose à faire. Avec l’ambivalence américaine à l’égard de l’OTAN et de la paix dans le monde – il faut agir et renforcer notre armée.
Le Canada assumera ses responsabilités. On va sécuriser notre Nord. On va augmenter le nombre de soldats sur le terrain, d’avions, de sous-marins et de brise-glaces. Les Américains pourront mieux dormir en sachant que le Canada va défendre son territoire. Ça va aussi nous permettre de faire plus pour le NORAD pour détecter, dissuader et détruire les menaces plus rapidement pour assurer la sécurité des deux pays.
In any negotiations, my red lines are these:
First, I will protect our border, our security, our resources, our farmers, including our supply-managed farmers, our fresh water, and our automotive workers. Also off the table: our sovereignty, our laws, our currency, our land, our water, our skies, our culture, our official languages, our resources, and Indigenous rights will remain in our control for all time. These are non-negotiable. We will protect Canada’s sovereignty in negotiations.
Second, I will commit that the revenue Canada gets from an expanded US-Canada trade deal will go to building up our military, meeting our NATO commitments, and being a reliable partner with our allies. Not because President Trump wants us to, but because it’s the right thing to do especially in light of American ambivalence about NATO and world peace.
Canada will carry its own weight. We will secure the North. We will put more boots on the ground, planes in the air, and submarines and ice-breakers in the water. Americans will be able to sleep sound at night knowing that Canada will fully defend our north. It will also allow us to do more for NORAD to detect, deter and destroy threats better and faster–to keep both countries safe.
Third, while we will work with the Americans to stop illegal migration and drugs in both directions at our shared border, I will also demand America do its part to stop illegal guns coming into our country that are killing our people.
How do we ensure that President Trump does not violate a new agreement, like he did the old one?
Well, we must make clear that any commitments we make on defence, border cooperation, and market access can be withdrawn. We will hold up our end of the bargain—only as long as he holds up his. That is how we create the leverage to protect against a president who changes his mind and breaks his word.
We are at a fork in the road.
Either President Trump will continue to hold the threat of tariffs over our heads for the next three and a half years, or we will secure a deal that provides permanent relief for our economies that are now paralyzed by uncertainty.
We don’t know which path the President will choose. So Canada must be prepared either way.
A renewed trade deal with the Americans would be ideal, but it can’t be the entire solution to Canada’s economic problems. A credible plan to deal with Trump must prepare Canada for growth with or without a secure trade agreement.
We can only control what we do here in Canada.
Unfortunately, after the Lost Liberal decade, we are in a position of unprecedented weakness. Our economy is stagnant, our workers are poorer, and our industry has been left exposed to President Trump’s threats.
Et – en ce moment déterminant – les Canadiens doivent se poser une seule question : pourquoi Donald Trump soutient-il Mark Carney ? Pourquoi Donald Trump a-t-il choisi Mark Carney comme le gagnant de la prochaine élection ?
Pensez-vous que Donald Trump a à cœur les intérêts du Canada quand il dit qu’il préfére négocier avec un autre gouvernement libéral ? Ou bien Donald Trump pense-t-il à ce qu’il peut obtenir aux dépens du Canada ?
Voici ce que je pense. Donald Trump sait très bien qu’un quatrième mandat libéral sous Mark Carney affaiblirait encore plus notre pays – qui continuerait à dépendre des marchés américains et à être vulnérable à ses menaces.
Il sait que Mark Carney s’oppose à faire du Canada une superpuissance énergétique. Il sait que Mark Carney poursuivra le programme libéral qui bloque la production d’énergie et la construction de pipelines. En fait, Mark Carney a déclaré, et je cite : « plus de 80 % des réserves actuelles de combustibles fossiles […] devraient rester dans le sol ».
At this pivotal moment, Canadians are asking themselves a question: Why is Donald Trump so supportive of Mark Carney? Why has Trump anointed Carney the winner of the election?
Do you think Donald Trump has Canada’s best interests in mind when he says he would rather deal with another Liberal government? Or is he thinking about what he can get at Canada’s expense?
Here is what I believe. Donald Trump knows that a fourth Liberal term under Mark Carney would mean an even weaker and poorer Canada that continues to be dependent on American markets and vulnerable to his threats.
He knows that Mark Carney is opposed to making Canada an economic superpower. He knows that the Liberal agenda of blocking energy production and pipeline construction will keep us under his thumb. In fact, Mark Carney has said, and I quote: “more than 80 per cent of current fossil fuel reserves … would need to stay in the ground.”
Trump knows that Mark Carney will keep Justin Trudeau’s industrial carbon tax on Canadian industry as well as Trudeau’s cap on Canadian energy, driving business south. And just yesterday, Mark Carney handed President Trump a gift. He promised that he would keep C-69 — the Liberal No-More-Pipelines Law.
Bill C-69 guarantees we will never build another pipeline, LNG plant, large-scale mine or nuclear project in this country ever again. It will send hundreds of billions of dollars more of investment south of the border to Trump’s America, and force us to continue selling the Americans our energy at a massive price discount.
When you consider that Mark Carney’s ”keep-it-in-ground” agenda will make our economy even more dependent on the United States, it becomes very clear why Trump wants the Liberals to get a fourth term.
The last thing Donald Trump wants to see is a Canadian Prime Minister who will turn this country into an economic and resource powerhouse, with competitive taxes, that is open for business. That may not be good for President Trump, but that is exactly how we put Canada First.
The choice in this election is clear. After the lost Liberal decade, can we afford a fourth term of rising costs and crime and a declining economy under America’s thumb? Or is it time for a government that will put Canada First–For a Change. Do we need a new Conservative government under strong leadership is not afraid to finally unleash the Canadian economy?
This part we do control.
Only we control our natural resources, our tax policy, our competitiveness, and whether Canadians keep more of what they earn and save.
The story of Canada is the story of hard work to build big things, of ambitious projects that bound our nation together, uniting us as a people and securing our sovereignty.
Canada was not handed to our ancestors – they had to work and sacrifice for it. And whether we were born here or chose to make our home here, we are their heirs, and we owe it to them to defend what they gave us and to build an even better Canada to leave to our children. That is our purpose. That is what we will do.
It’s time for Canada to think big again. It’s time to challenge ourselves to build.
Because decline is a choice. But it’s not my choice.
I choose to build. I choose to grow. I choose to meet the moment with an ambition worthy of the men and women who built this great country.
My plan for the Canadian economy could not be more different from the Carney Liberals.
I have spent the first week of this campaign setting out my ambitious and detailed plan to build our economy so we can stand on our own feet and stand up to President Trump from a position of strength.
It is everything we should have been doing for the last ten years, and everything the Liberals have opposed and that, under Mark Carney, they continue to oppose.
Dès la première semaine de ma campagne, j’ai proposé :
Une réduction de 15 % de l’impôt sur le revenu pour récompenser les Canadiens qui travaillent fort et stimuler nos économies locales.
La baisse d’impôt pour le réinvestissement au Canada d’abord – ZÉRO TAXE SUR LES GAINS EN CAPITAL LORSQUE VOUS RÉINVESTISSEZ VOS REVENUS AU CANADA.
Cette baisse d’impôt rapportera des milliards de dollars d’investissements que les libéraux ont fait fuir. Ces nouveaux fonds vont servir à financer de nouveaux équipements, à embaucher des travailleurs, à créer des technologies et à développer des industries essentielles. C’est l’élan dont nous avons besoin pour relancer l’économie canadienne.
On va permettre aux aînés qui travaillent de gagner jusqu’à 34 000 dollars non imposables, soit 10 000 dollars de plus qu’à l’heure actuelle – ce qui leur donnera le choix de travailler plus longtemps s’ils le souhaitent, assurant ainsi leur retraite.
On va créer des zones canadiennes prêtes à bâtir, c’est-à-dire des zones où la construction immédiate est déjà autorisée. Et un corridor énergétique national qui va accélérer les autorisations pour les lignes de transmission, les chemins de fer, les pipelines et autres infrastructures essentielles à travers le Canada, en contournant les États-Unis et en acheminant nos ressources partout au Canada et à travers le monde.
In the first week of my campaign, I have already announced:
An income tax cut of 15% to reward hard work and boost our local economies.
I’ve announced the Canada First Reinvestment Tax Cut – ZERO CAPITAL GAINS TAX WHEN YOU REINVEST PROCEEDS IN CANADA. This tax cut will bring home billions of dollars in investment that Liberals drove away. New money that will fund new equipment, hire workers, create technologies, and develop critical industries. It is economic rocket fuel to relaunch the Canadian economy.
We will let working seniors earn up to $34,000 tax-free–$10,000 more than now, giving them the choice to work longer if they want to, securing their retirement.
We will create Canada Shovel Ready Zones – areas already permitted for immediate construction. And a national energy corridor that will fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure across Canada, bypassing the United States and carrying our resources across Canada and to the world.
I announced that my government will approve permits for Ring of Fire development within six months, with a commitment of $1 billion over three years for the construction of a long-overdue road, connecting Indigenous communities and the critical mineral deposits.
Finally, the 14 largest Canadian energy companies have written to all federal leaders asking them to support five urgently needed steps to Trump-proof our economy.
They are:
- Repeal the “No-New-Pipelines” Law C-69 and the Tanker Ban. My answer is yes.
- Grant decisions on major projects within six months. My answer is yes.
- Scrap the Energy Cap. My answer is yes.
- Axe the Industrial Carbon tax. My answer is yes.
- And give Indigenous Loan Guarantees, so they can be equity partners in energy projects. My answer is yes.
Yesterday in St. John’s, I committed to all five of them. Mr. Carney says he will do none of them.
Expanding our energy production and exports is the single most powerful thing we can do to break our dependence on the Americans. And Mr. Carney is opposed to it.
So, what is his plan? A resume is not a plan. Nor is continuing with the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.
We need a serious nation-building plan. Mine is a plan to put Canada First—For a Change.
It is a plan for a Canada that is richer and stronger than the one the Liberals have left us. A plan to protect Canada from whatever President Trump chooses to do.
So, my message to President Trump is this: If you keep attacking our economy, over the next 4 years, under a new Conservative government, Canada will have completely rebuilt its economy so that we are no longer reliant on the US, and you will have lost the greatest trading partner and friend you ever had.
I am confident that my plan will unleash a generational economic boom here at home, which we need because none of us know what Trump will do.
The only thing we control is what we do at home.
And the best way to stand up to him is to be strong here.
Unleashing our industry, cutting taxes on our workers, zero capital gains taxes on Canadian reinvestment, building more homes, LNG plants, pipelines, mines and more to build our own economic fortress here in Canada is the ONLY WAY to stand up to President Trump.
All these things that I’ve been fighting for for the last ten years, all the things that Mr. Carney has been fighting to shut down, are what we need to do now to stand up to Donald Trump.
Finally, we must remember why we are doing what we are doing.
The point of having better trade agreements and tax policies is not to win a debate in an economics seminar. It is to help real people in the real world. What is the use of a booming economy if our cities are unaffordable, unsafe, and increasingly unliveable?
Some Liberal supporters have asked why I keep talking about the cost of living, housing, crime, and about the Liberal drug crisis, instead of focusing only on Donald Trump.
My answer to them is this. The threat from Trump is real and serious, and I have proposed serious responses.
But the struggles Canadians are facing at home, the fear and the hurt I hear everywhere I go across this country—that is also real. And I will not stop talking about these problems, which predate Donald Trump, and which will outlast Donald Trump—if we don’t act to fix them now.
Everyone is struggling with the cost of living. Young Canadians are stressed about never owning a home, bills they can’t afford, the crime that is ravaging our cities… parents worry about their children being able to move out of their house and some also fear for their child overdosing on fentanyl.
Millions of Canadians have been living this way for years, living “lives of quiet desperation,” and their stories rarely make the headlines or the evening news.
So, yes, I will be out there every day, outlining my plan to protect Canada against American tariffs. But I will also talk about my plan to build more homes, get people off drugs and into recovery, fix the budget to keep inflation down, cap immigration so we never again add people faster than we add jobs, homes and health care, and get criminals off our streets–ALL while also talking about my plan to stand up to Trump from a position of strength.
Because that’s what a Prime Minister does.
Mark Carney and his team of Trudeau Liberals want you to forget that they caused these problems over the last decade–and that their policies are exactly the same today as then. It is the same Liberal ministers, same Liberal strategists, same Liberal MPs making the same Liberal promises.
We cannot afford a fourth term of the same.
We need a change. To put Canada First.
We will be a strong, self-reliant nation that takes care of its own and bows down before no country. Not a nation of tax collectors and toll masters, gatekeepers and Grandees, bureaucrats and busybodies, rulers and rule makers. We are a country of entrepreneurs and explorers, of artists and adventurers; of workers and warriors. Of pioneers and patriots.
Canada is so much more than just not being American. It’s about our values, our culture, our shared history, and the enduring promise of Canada here at home.
The promise of Canada has made everything I hold dear possible.
That includes the thing that is most important to me – the reason I’m fighting to put Canada First – my family who owe this country everything.
Why did my wife, Ana, choose to leave a tropical country like Venezuela to come to a country where it still feels like winter in April?
Because only here could a refugee from Venezuela and the son of a teenage mother, adopted and raised by schoolteachers, make it to this stage, in this election, fighting for the country they love.
To restore that promise requires real change.
Canada is ready for change. I am ready to lead that change.
I am ready to be Prime Minister.
For our people.
For our land.
For Canada First – For a Change.
Let’s bring it home.
