Denouncing rising inflation and the increasing cost of food, housing, and fuel, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre held a rare media availability today, Wednesday, to announce: "It seems that everything has collapsed in this country right now."

By citing "40-year high inflation," "35-year-olds still living in their parents' basements," and "almost a 100 percent increase in fuel prices," Poilievre blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. Poilievre made these remarks while taking questions from reporters inside a Vancouver supermarket on Wednesday.

The Conservative leader also pointed to rates of addiction, crime, and homelessness as other examples of what he sees as failures of the federal government, without mentioning factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic which, for example, worsened overdose deaths.

Poilievre added: "So what are we going to do about it? We have to get the country back on track. My plan is to put a stop to government spending and end inflationary deficit so we can reduce inflation," proposing changes in federal policy that would only bear fruit if the Conservatives are elected after the next federal election, which is currently not scheduled until 2025. He continued: "It is time to take back control of our lives in this country, to fix what is broken, and that is what a Poilievre government will do."

Additionally, Poilievre told reporters on Wednesday that he stands by his support for the "peaceful and law-abiding" protesters who were part of the "Freedom Convoy," amid a pile of testimonies and evidence being heard at the Public Order Emergency Commission regarding the federal government's protest of the Emergency Act to end what they felt were protests threatening national security.