The leader of Canada’s main opposition party was ejected from the House of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “a wacko”, in the latest clash between two men set to fight an election next year.
The incident started when Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservatives, criticised Trudeau for supporting moves in British Columbia to decriminalize some hard drugs in an attempt to reduce the number of overdose-related deaths.
“When will we put an end to this wacko policy by this wacko prime minister?” he asked Trudeau in the House of Commons.
Speaker Greg Fergus, a Liberal, told Poilievre the comment was unparliamentary and unacceptable, and asked him four times to withdraw it. Poilievre declined on each occasion, saying instead he would use the word extremist or radical.
Fergus told Poilievre he was disregarding the speaker’s authority and, in an unusual move, said: “I order to you to withdraw from the House … for the remainder of this day’s sitting.”
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.
Last week, British Columbia reversed course on part of its narcotics policy, reintroducing a ban on public drug use, although personal possession and consumption will still be allowed in private spaces.
Liberal parliamentarian Steven MacKinnon, in charge of government business in the House, told reporters the incident had been a disgrace and showed a disrespect for institutions.
Trudeau has a testy relationship with Poilievre, whom he accuses of being an extremist and a supporter of the Make America Great Again movement of Donald Trump.
Trudeau had earlier spoken to reporters on Tuesday and accused Poilievre of spending time with far-right groups.
“That is not responsible leadership. That is dangerous for democracy, it’s dangerous for Canadians,” he said.
Ejections from the House are relatively rare. The speaker’s office was not immediately available to comment on the last time a leader of the official opposition had been booted out.
The next election must be held by late October 2025. Surveys of public opinion indicate the Conservatives would win a large majority over the center-left Liberals, who have been in power since November 2015.