The leader of Canada’s main opposition party was ejected from the House of Commons after he called Justin Trudeau “a wacko”.
It followed a parliamentary clash on Tuesday between the Conservative Party’s Pierre Poilievre and the Canadian prime minister during a debate over British Columbia’s decriminalisation of hard drugs.
“When will we put an end to this wacko policy by this wacko prime minister?” said Mr Poilievre.
Speaker Greg Fergus, a Liberal, told Mr Poilievre the comment was both unparliamentary and unacceptable and asked him four times to withdraw it.
Mr Poilievre declined on each occasion, saying instead he would use the word extremist or radical.
The Speaker told Mr Poilievre he was disregarding the speaker’s authority and, in an unusual move, said: “I order you to withdraw from the House for the remainder of this day’s sitting.”
Amid heated scenes, Rachael Thomas, another Conservative MP, was also expelled.
Mr Poilievre, who left the chamber with his legislators, later repeated his attack on Trudeau’s stance on drugs.
“This is a wacko policy from a wacko PM that’s destroying lives,” he said in a social media post.
Conservatives in the British Columbia government, supported by Mr Poilievre, are seeking to reverse the province’s decision to decriminalise some hard drugs in an attempt to reduce the number of overdose-related deaths.
Steven MacKinnon, Liberal parliamentarian in charge of government business in Canada’s elected lower chamber, said the incident had been a disgrace and showed a disrespect for institutions.
Mr Trudeau, prime minister since 2015, has a testy relationship with Mr Poilievre, who he accuses of being an extremist and a supporter of the Make America Great Again movement of Donald Trump, the former US president.
The prime minister had earlier in the day accused Mr Poilievre – whose Conservative party is well ahead in polls – of spending time with far-Right groups.
“That is not responsible leadership. That is dangerous for democracy, it’s dangerous for Canadians,” he said.
The next election must be held by late October 2025. Opinion polls indicate the Conservatives have a strong lead over Mr Trudeau’s Liberals.
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