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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
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.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 15, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - bogged down, incident report, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Norway's windfall: should it go to Ukraine?
Talking Point Oil-based wealth fund is intended 'for future generations of Norwegians', but Putin's war poses an existential threat
By The Week UK Published
-
5 government-backed cartoons about the White House Tesla sale
Cartoons Artists take on Cybertrump, Trumpmobile, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hawks Teslas, slashes more federal jobs
Speed Read The Education Department cut its workforce in half ahead of an expected Trump order to shutter the agency
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine agrees to ceasefire, ending US aid freeze
Speed Read Kyiv made peace with the Trump administration by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire in its war against Russian invaders
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Dubai's rise represents a dramatic rewriting'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
ICE arrests Palestinian advocate with green card
Speed Read Recent Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil has had his visa revoked, despite his status as a permanent resident
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published