Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has reiterated his support for Ukraine as tensions mount between the United States and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At a Sunday press conference, Poilievre said he was clear in his support “Ukraine’s right to defend itself and reclaim its territory”, stating that “all democracies need to stand with Ukrainians, any suggestion to the contrary is wrong”.
Poilievre was asked about the heated exchange in the oval office between Zelenskyy and the U.S. president and vice-president, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Poilievre spoke about the importance of “defunding Putin,” a common theme in the conservative speeches regarding energy policy reform such as supporting domestic pipeline projects.
Poilievre highlighted the Energy East pipeline in his remarks, suggesting that had the pipeline been approved it would have transported “one million barrels” of Western Canadian oil per day to Atlantic Canada, which could then be shipped off to Europe.
Germany continues to purchase Russian oil while supporting Ukraine financially, funding both parties in the conflict, a dilemma which Poilievre has mentioned before.
No commitments were made such as Canadian boots on the ground or direct military intervention on the side of the Ukrainians Poilievre told reporters that “hasn’t seen any such proposal.”
When asked about his British counterpart Keir Starmer’s stance in favor of boots on the ground in the case of a peace deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “everything is on the table”.
While Poilievre was in Ottawa, Trudeau was in London participating in a summit where leaders from NATO countries began drafting a peace plan to take to Trump.
The summit came a week after Trudeau visited Kyiv where he pledged a further 25 LAV3 vehicles, two armored combat support vehicles, four F16 flight simulators, millions of rounds of ammunition, with $5 Billion paid in installments funded with frozen Russian assets.