A government-approved journalist from the Parliamentary Press Gallery failed to catch Pierre Poilievre off-guard Monday with a baffling question on his economic record.

“What economic and diplomatic experience do you have to go up against Donald Trump,” asked a reporter. “Quite a lot, actually,” he replied, noting he was the minister of housing and jobs under the Harper government more than a decade ago.

“I helped Mr. Harper cut the GST, cut income tax, cut business tax, and balanced the budget,” he said. In 2023, the average Canadian family paid $64,610 in taxes, representing 46.1% of their annual gross income ($140,106), up from 45.2% the year before.

Meanwhile, the Liberal government has never balanced the budget under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The inquiry follows a storm of false media accusations, calling Poilievre a “MAGA guy,” amid contentious trade disputes with the United States. 

Press gallery is trying out gotcha questions today and fails miserably

"On all the big economic questions of the last five years, Carney has been wrong been wrong and exactly wrong and I have been right"

"Pipelines now everyone claims to support after opposing them for the last… pic.twitter.com/cCjoBCDz7Z

— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) March 10, 2025

“Over my time in Parliament, I’ve been scrutinizing and studying the books on the Public Accounts Committee, the Operations Committee, the Finance Committee,” detailed Poilievre.

“And if you want any proof that my economic ideas are the best, the Liberals are all … copying them right before the election—all the big economic questions of the last five years,” he said, pivoting to attack Carney, his Liberal counterpart. 

“I said, five years ago, that money printing would cause inflation. He said deflation was on the horizon,” Poilievre told reporters. “I turned out to be right.”

“I said the carbon tax would drive up food prices, and it did. Drove them up 37% faster in Canada than in the United States of America,” he continued.

“If Mr. Carney is so smart on economics, how is it that he was so wrong, for so long, on all of the economic issues?” Recent polling from Nanos Research says Canadians believe in Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney (40%) over the Conservatives (26%) to negotiate an end to tariffs with Trump.

Pierre Poilievre says independent media should be allowed in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

Watch Candice Malcolm’s full interview with Poilievre by subscribing to Juno News: https://t.co/rzk6eWLDCY pic.twitter.com/JhO7Pp6Vqk

— Juno News (@junonewscom) February 13, 2025

Last month, the Conservative leader bashed the Parliamentary Press Gallery as being “highly undemocratic” for not allowing Independent media access to politicians. 

“There is no reason why it should be a small cabal of government-approved mouthpieces,” Poilievre said in an interview with Juno News.

His remarks followed a 2019 court ruling that overturned the blacklisting of Rebel News and True North, based on secretive “internal media accreditation guidelines.”

“It has made it particularly difficult for me when I go and hold a press conference,” claimed the MP. “It’s just Liberal media who are there to attend.”

“I would love to see a scenario where every different kind of journalist from all backgrounds, of all opinions, is given a chance to report on what happens on the Hill.”

Blacklock’s Reporter is the only accredited news agency that neither accepts nor solicits federal funding, the publication said.

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