Scheer seeks common ground, Moe leaves disappointed after meetings with Trudeau

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s back-to-back meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday yielded little by way of results in the seemingly elusive search for national unity in the wake of a divisive federal election.

With the House of Commons now scheduled to return on Dec. 5, Scheer lobbed the ball into Trudeau’s court for ensuring the throne speech attracts enough support to keep the government standing, while Moe suggested it appears time for his province to find a way to play the game on its own.

Moe said he arrived in Ottawa in good faith to hear how Trudeau planned to make good on a promise he made on election night: that he understood and would address the frustrations of voters in Alberta and Saskatchewan who elected not a single Liberal MP between them on Oct. 21.

“I came today to hear about what he was going to do differently to support the industries and the people in our province and I can tell you this — I did not hear that there is going to be anything different, there is going to be more of the same,” a visibly upset Moe told reporters after the meeting.

Before it began, Trudeau had suggested it was going to be a tough discussion, noting there are many areas in which the two do not agree.

“There are a number of things we’re going to be able to work together on,” he said, however. “We both understand our shared responsibility to do things that strengthen the country every step of the way.”

Moe walked into the meeting with a set of demands he’d been articulating since the Liberals won a minority government: a one-year pause on the federal carbon tax in Saskatchewan, a reworked equalization formula and more overseas oil markets opened by completing pipelines beyond the Trans Mountain project.

He got commitments for none of these, Moe said, and it’s time for his province to find another path forward.

“The prime minister needs to answer the question as to how is he going to ensure that he not only understands the frustrations in the province of Saskatchewan but how he is going to support them,” Moe said.

Saskatchewan will continue its court challenge to the federal carbon tax and increase outreach to global trading partners, Moe said.

“We are also going to look at opportunities to expand our provincial autonomy,” he said, promising to expand on that in the coming days. “Our provincial government will not abandon the people of our province.”

Scheer, who also represents a Saskatchewan riding, left his own meeting with Trudeau with a slightly more optimistic tone. After their conversation, which lasted less than 30 minutes, he suggested he and Trudeau see eye-to-eye on subjects both parties made promises on during the campaign: making maternal and parental benefits tax-free, funding public transit in Toronto, and other tax cuts. Trudeau has long said his first move in the new Parliament will be to introduce tax cuts.

Scheer said he’ll wait to see whether that agreement is reflected in the throne speech. A Commons vote to approve it as a general plan for governing is considered a measure of confidence. With a minority government, the opposition parties could easily trigger an election by voting to reject it.

“It’s up to Mr. Trudeau to find common ground to get his throne speech passed,” Scheer told reporters.

“I highlighted the areas we would be focusing on, the parts of our platform that we believe should be implemented, and it’s up to him to decide what to do with that.”

Trudeau said voters expect MPs to get to work quickly.

“Last month, Canadians elected a Parliament that they expect to work together and that’s exactly what I’m going to be focusing on doing,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau is also expected to meet the leaders of the other opposition parties in the coming days. With his Liberals holding only 157 seats, he will need backing from at least one of the Conservatives, the Bloc Quebecois or the New Democrats to move any legislation ahead in the next session of Parliament.

Scheer, whose Conservatives won 121 seats last month, could also band together with the other parties to defeat Trudeau and force an election. Scheer said he’s not scheduled any meetings with the other leaders so far.

The Canadian Press