Tensions over immigration: Justin Trudeau ‘got away with it’, says Roberge

Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge at a press conference on April 28, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

On Saturday, tensions rose again between Quebec and Ottawa at the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) political conference in Saint-Hyacinthe.

Quebec Minister of Immigration and Canadian Relations Jean-François Roberge criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for airing his dirty laundry in public.

On Thursday evening, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, Trudeau accused Quebec Premier François Legault of spreading falsehoods about immigration.

Trudeau said that Legault wanted to "politizise" the immigration issue "at all costs." According to Roberge, the prime minister did not behave with dignity

"I think Mr Trudeau got away with it, as they say. It's not smart to quarrel in front of a visitor," he told a press scrum.

In contrast, Legault "showed the stature of a statesman," he said, by "not criticizing anyone in the presence of Mr Macron." "The same cannot be said of Mr Trudeau," he added.

Last week, Legault called on the Bloc Québécois to vote with the Conservatives to bring down the Trudeau government on the grounds that Ottawa was not doing enough on immigration.  

-This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 28, 2024.