After eight years of Justin Trudeau’s high taxes and inflationary deficits, 22 per cent of all Canadians and 28 per cent of women say they are completely broke. Another 32 per cent told Ipsos pollsters last week that they fear they will be in the same boat if prices continue rising, while 52% are concerned they don’t have enough money to feed their families.

Last week, Justin Trudeau told reporters that Canada is “doing really, really well.”

Canadians are out money, worried about feeding their families – and the Liberal-NDP coalition government is out of touch.

I walked into the House of Commons to begin a new session of Parliament today, concerned about Canadians struggling more than ever with inflation, the relentless record high cost of living and climbing interest rates. There are significant challenges ahead and, frankly, Canada needs strong, focused leadership to weather this economic storm with a recession looming.

Sadly, the prime minister and his government are tone deaf when it comes to the real-life struggles of average working Canadians.

In Barrie-Innisfil, food bank usage is up more than 60 per cent and across the country 1.5 million people are lining up for food every month; parents are skipping meals so their children can eat; seniors are delaying their retirements, young people have given up the dream of homeownership and are now worried about paying their sky-high rents. Homeowners are losing sleep thinking they may not be able to afford to renegotiate their mortgage in the next few months or years.

It’s insulting to hear Trudeau’s out-of-touch sound bites and see his photo-ops as Canadians struggle through the most unstable economic times of their lives.

Now is not the time to increase taxes and put forward ideological virtue signaling platforms that leave so many young people, families and seniors behind while the palms of well-connected Liberal friends, insiders and lobbyists continue to be greased.

This is the time for pragmatic, real world solutions that will positively impact the lives of Canadians and allow families to keep more of their hard-earned income, to stop attacking income producing sectors of our economy, reduce taxes, and stop the Liberal-NDP plan to increase the carbon tax on April 1 that will raise prices on everything including home heating, gasoline, and groceries. Conservatives understand that a dollar kept in the hands of a person who earns it is much better than a dollar in the hands of a politician who taxes it.

Barrie-Innisfil is also talking about increases in violence and crimes taking over communities in Canada.  After eight years of Justin Trudeau, violent crime in Canada is up 32 per cent while gang related homicides are up 92 per cent.  Opioid and drug overdoses and addictions are up after eight years of Trudeau. I’ve heard from people who have lost loved ones to the opioid crisis and their pain is unbearable. They want – and deserve – solutions.

That’s not what Justin Trudeau is talking about, however. His answer to escalating crime is to attack law abiding hunters and gun collectors instead of securing our borders to keep smuggled guns out of Canada, addressing the urgent need for bail reform, and investing in addiction recovery programs that will save lives.

This session of parliament, Justin Trudeau will cultivate the seeds of division he has sewn pitting Canadians against each other, neighbour against neighbour regionally, (rural and urban), along economic lines, and will use race, gender, and faith to further divide us. He will double down on his division to distract from his government’s failures and the real issues that are causing pain and stress due to eight years of Liberals in power.

The cost of living is going to define 2023. We are either going to get on top of this crisis and make life better, or we are going to continue along Trudeau’s ideological path, a path on which he has no solutions to the problems he has created.

Pierre Poilievre and Conservatives are focused and ready to lead and as Parliament returns we will show Canadians why!

It’s time to get to work.