One of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s most prominent supporters praised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s political leadership during a conference on Monday.
Trudeau was delivering an address at the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Toronto. He was introduced by former Conservative cabinet minister John Baird, who currently serves as one of the forum’s Canadian co-chairs.
Last year, Baird was quick to endorse Poilievre when he announced his bid for the Conservative leadership. He also served as a national co-chair of Poilievre’s successful campaign for the top Tory job.
But Baird praised Trudeau’s political acumen when he introduced the prime minister on Monday.
“It’s my great privilege to introduce one of the most successful political leaders of our generation,” Baird said before Trudeau came to the podium to speak.
Baird left politics just before the 2015 election that brought the Trudeau Liberals to power.
Baird balanced his praise of the prime minister with a joke indicating his political allegiance hasn’t changed.
The former foreign affairs minister told the audience a story about visiting the Philippines shortly after Trudeau attended a summit in that country. Baird said that while he was getting a ride to the airport, he told the driver he was from Canada.
“‘We love Canada. We love your prime minister,'” Baird recalled the driver saying in response.
“I smiled. I paused, and I said, ‘Why?'”
Trudeau thanked Baird for his work at with the forum, adding that different political perspectives are important when promoting Canada on the world stage.
Later in his speech, Trudeau took a shot at Poilievre without naming the Conservative leader.
Speaking about public concerns about the rising cost of living, Trudeau said some leaders want to “exploit” those concerns for political gain.
“Unfortunately, there are those who want to exploit it without real solutions to ease people’s economic anxieties,” Trudeau said.
“They say everything is broken and they talk about burning it all down,” he added, referring to one of Poilievre’s repeated criticisms of the Liberal government.
The Canada-Australia Economic Leadership Forum bills itself as a way for political and business leaders from both countries to discuss economic and policy issues.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe are also scheduled to speak during the three-day event.
More Stories
What Trudeau’s podcast appearances say about the Liberals’ next ballot box question
ANALYSIS | In videos and podcasts, Poilievre and Trudeau are eager to explain themselves — at length | CBC News
South Africa celebrates 30 years since end of apartheid, but discontent grows – National | Globalnews.ca