Poilievre promises crackdown on scams, knocks Carney
Investing.com -- Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled a sweeping anti-fraud and public safety plan Tuesday, pledging to crack down on telephone and online scams targeting seniors. Framing the upcoming federal election as a 'change' moment, he cast the Liberals' three terms in office as a period of rising crime and inaction.
Speaking in Montreal, Poilievre said his government would introduce a "Stop Scamming Seniors Act" to mandate real-time fraud detection by banks and telecoms. The plan would also create a 24-hour hold on high-risk transactions, impose public reporting requirements, and levy fines of up to $5 million per violation.
'Imagine your 80-year-old mother getting a call that sounds exactly like your voice, asking for bail money,' he said, citing AI-generated scams as an emerging threat. Canadian seniors reportedly lost over $137 million to scams in 2022, a figure that likely underrepresents total damages due to low reporting rates.
The proposed law includes mandatory jail terms—up to five years for million-dollar frauds—along with financial penalties ten times the value of stolen funds. Poilievre also announced a new criminal offense: willful, blind profiteering from scams, targeting executives who knowingly allow fraud to continue.
Beyond economic fraud, Poilievre reiterated promises of tougher criminal sentencing, including life sentences for human traffickers and a 'three strikes' law for repeat violent offenders. 'Repeat murderers will come out of prison in a box,' he said, vowing no parole for multiple homicide convictions.
The Conservative leader sharply criticized Liberal-era justice reforms, including Bills C-5 and C-75, which he claims have enabled a surge in violent crime and repeat offenses. He singled out Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney, calling Carney's reported remarks on sentencing 'incendiary' and 'dangerous.'
Poilievre linked increased scam activity and violent crime to what he has often coined a 'lost Liberal decade,' blaming high costs and lax enforcement for rising public insecurity. 'Canadian seniors cannot afford a fourth Liberal term of crime and chaos,' he said.
The speech also included tax proposals aimed at older Canadians, including cutting income taxes for seniors by 15% and allowing up to $34,000 in annual income to be earned tax-free. 'The Canadian promise belongs most of all to our seniors,' Poilievre concluded.
Additionally, Poilievre commented on a Nikkei report alleging that Honda (NYSE:HMC) is considering moving auto production from Canada to the U.S., blaming U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy. "President Trump deserves nothing but condemnation for the unfair targeting of Canada," he said.
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