Poilievre tells U.S. TV Canadians are 'wounded' and 'confused' to be in America's crosshairs

Poilievre tells U.S. TV Canadians are 'wounded' and 'confused' to be in America's crosshairs

'I'm not going to attack my prime minister on foreign soil,' Conservative leader says

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is telling Americans their northern neighbours are feeling "wounded" and "confused" over how Canada and its economy became a key target for U.S. President Donald Trump.

"I think we feel a little bit wounded," Poilievre told reporters on the U.S. network CNBC on Thursday during a trip to New York where he is advocating for a return to normal trade relations.

"We're kind of confused as to how it is, suddenly, that Canada ended up in the crosshair."

The Conservative leader said Canada and the U.S. have a deeply interconnected economic relationship that has delivered peace and prosperity for decades and the only way forward should be tariff-free trade.

"Both countries are going to have their grievances," he said. "America had buy-America policies that prevented us from selling into subnational procurement markets and tariffs on our softwood lumber.… But the bottom line is: let's sit down and work them out for the mutual benefit of our people."

In a statement Poilievre said he went to New York to fight against tariffs and for jobs on both sides of the border.

He said he will be meeting with investors and business leaders but his "main audience is the American people" to which he is making the case "that both our countries can be safer, richer and more affordable if we trade freely."

Poilievre also said he will stay in New York for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, to honour the victims and highlight "how Canadians and Americans stood together after the terrorist attacks."

'Politics ends at the border': Poilievre

That national spirit was on display during Poilievre's CNBC interview, when he refused to be goaded into answering a question about whether he believed Prime Minister Mark Carney was acting in good faith during the recent round of trade negotiations.

"I'm not going to attack my prime minister on foreign soil. It's just not something I'm going to do," he said. "My mission here is to fight for my country, not to score political points domestically. Politics ends at the border."

Poilievre said Canada needs to leverage the "single biggest asset Canada has in the U.S., which is our friendship with the American people who overwhelmingly love Canada."

Co-host Joe Kernen said he respected Poilievre for refusing to criticize Carney while abroad, noting that politicians in opposition in the U.S. do not maintain that standard.

"You actually have a little bit of class," Kernen said.

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When Kernen pressed Poilievre on Canada's economic performance over the last decade, the Conservative leader also avoided criticizing the country, saying Canada has had "a lot of good public policy successes by different levels of government."

Going forward Poilievre said rivals and risks to the U.S. are "slowly mounting" and rather than combat them on their own, the U.S. should rebuild the Western alliance that won the Cold War rather than fighting with friends.

"I think the United States would be better off if it united with those countries that believe in free speech, free markets, free trade and free people," he said.

"We could build an incredible North American fortress with the resources that we have on this continent, but it's going to take a collaborative relationship to do it."

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.