NDP calls out Conservative MP 'no show' at parliamentary visit to Washington

David Thurton · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 6

New Democrats accidental Conservative MPs were missing successful enactment arsenic Canadian parliamentarians visited Capitol Hill and met with American lawmakers and concern leaders this week.

Canadian MPs and senators were successful Washington connected Tuesday and Wednesday arsenic portion of Parliament's diplomatic efforts. The travel coincided with the commencement of the U.S.-Canada commercialized war.

In a social media post, NDP MP Brian Masse noted the Conservative MPs' lack astatine a captious time.

"The Conservative House of Commons members are a nary amusement contempt having the astir spots for our delegation," posted Masse, who represents the borderline riding of Windsor West. "We adjacent person the Bloc [Québécois] represented to amusement solidarity for each those who unrecorded successful our large nation."

In an interrogation with CBC News, Masse said Canada needs an all-hands-on platform attack to get Washington to backmost down.

"We're doing this astatine a clip erstwhile it should beryllium Team Canada approach," Masse said.

He said Conservatives person spent a number of years "talking down Canada" and repeating that "Canada is broken."

Masse is portion of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, a non-partisan radical of Canadian lawmakers who regularly question to Washington to lobby the U.S. Congress.

Masse is 1 of the vice-chairs, on with Liberal MP John McKay, who was "disappointed" that the Conservatives did not nonstop immoderate MPs.

He noted that a Conservative legislator attended, but MPs person ever been a "value-added " constituent to these trips.

"I was alternatively hoping the Conservatives would travel due to the fact that their entree to the Republican MAGA assemblage is astir apt a batch amended than ours," said McKay, a Liberal from Toronto, referring to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement.

"I don't deliberation we're arsenic effectual arsenic we could be, had we had the Conservatives with us."

McKay defended the enactment of parliamentary diplomacy, noting that MPs often bump into cardinal U.S. governmental players conscionable by showing up connected Capitol Hill.

"Our diplomats bash a beauteous superb occupation down present successful Washington," McKay said. "They truly busted their rear ends turning implicit each stone."

But helium argued that "elected radical subordinate amended to elected people."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's bureau declined to reply questions astir Conservative MPs' lack connected the trip. However, a enactment spokesperson pointed CBC News to his seven-point program to shield and fortify the Canadian system from tariffs.

It includes allocating immoderate of the gross generated by counter-tariffs to trim taxes and supply targeted alleviation for workers.