Canada's Conservative lawmakers call Trudeau 'dictator' as he defends his emergency declaration in Parliament

Conservative members of Canada's House of Commons lit into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday after he invoked the country's Emergencies Act earlier this week to crack down on the Freedom Convoy protests.
Conservative MP Andrew Scheer argued that when First Nations peoples blocked railroad lines and the path of a planned pipeline in 2020, Trudeau was willing to negotiate with the protesters, "but now that the protests are about something that he disagrees with, he uses inflammatory language, hurls personal attacks, and makes a massive power grab."
"We know the PM finds democracy inconvenient and that he admires China's dictatorship," Scheer continued. "So will the prime minister admit that this is all just a move to crack down on dissent?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scheer was not the only one to bring up comments Trudeau made about China when he was leader of the opposition.
"There's a level of admiration I actually have for China, because their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime," Trudeau said at a 2013 fundraiser.
Nor was Scheer the only one to criticize Trudeau's handling of the protests. Candice Bergen, who became the Conservative Party's interim leader after Erin O'Toole was ousted earlier this month, rose to blast the prime minister for "call[ing] people he disagrees with racists, misogynists."
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman called Trudeau's emergency declaration "unjustified."
Trudeau responded to Lantsman, who is Jewish, by saying Conservatives have chosen to "stand with people who wave swastikas."
Trudeau defended himself by insisting the protests were harming Canadians and by doubling down on his criticism of the demonstrators, drawing cries of "Dictator!" and other shouts of derision from the Conservative benches.
Debate in Canada's Westminster-style parliament tends to be more vigorous than in the U.S. House and Senate, but even so, Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota was forced to intervene several times to restore order.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Harris rules out run for California governor
Speed Read The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee ended months of speculation about her plans for the contest
-
Trump sets new tariff rates as deadline nears
Speed Read New tariff rates for South Korea, Brazil and India announced
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Senate confirms Trump loyalist Bove to top court
Speed Read The president's former criminal defense lawyer was narrowly approved to earn a lifetime seat
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein
-
Judge halts GOP defunding of Planned Parenthood
Speed Read The Trump administration can't withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, said the ruling
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in Gaza
Speed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets