Poilievre lays out economic agenda at Medicine Hat College town hall
The Conservative leader fielded questions on U.S. tariffs, interprovincial trade and energy permitting during a chamber of commerce event hosted with MP Glen Motz.
Why it matters
Poilievre's proposals on energy permitting and interprovincial trade directly affect Alberta's resource sector and businesses.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a town hall at Medicine Hat College on Thursday, hosted by the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce and Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner MP Glen Motz. The event drew business leaders, entrepreneurs and residents for a discussion on workforce availability, housing, regulation, trade, agriculture, energy development and the cost of doing business.
In his opening remarks, Poilievre said government spending and growth in the money supply have driven up costs and eroded purchasing power, and called for cuts to bureaucracy, consultants, foreign aid and corporate subsidies. He proposed lower business taxes, fewer regulatory barriers to investment and faster permitting for major projects, saying Ottawa should limit its permitting role to projects crossing provincial borders while leaving in-province projects to the provinces.
On energy, Poilievre called for changes to federal environmental and tanker legislation to increase oil and gas production and ease construction of infrastructure to move resources to market, citing Germany's LNG terminal as an example of a faster approval process.
During questions, Poilievre discussed the Canada-U.S. tariff dispute, noting recent conversations with American media, politicians and former White House adviser Larry Kudlow. He said Canada has "one prime minister at a time" and that Ottawa should lead negotiations, while Canada should pursue tariff-free U.S. access and diversify trade. He also backed mutual recognition of product safety standards between provinces to remove internal trade barriers.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.