Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his main political rival for focusing on Canadians' affordability concerns, but said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lacks realistic solutions.

In a year-end interview with Rosemary Barton, CBC News’s chief political correspondent, Trudeau agreed that Poilievre has talked about affordability concerns in front of the Liberals.

Barton told the prime minister: "It seems that Pierre Poilievre understands [the affordability concerns] and has been committed to them long before you existed."

Trudeau replied, "That doesn’t mean he understands it. He has done a really effective job of flipping that and amplifying it to people."

Since being elected Conservative leader in the fall of 2022, Poilievre has put affordability at the heart of his political message, using inflation and rising interest rates to attack the Liberals.

Poilievre’s message seems to have resonated with voters. Most recent polls place the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals.

Housing policy showed the difference between Trudeau and Poilievre...

Asked if he thought voters were cautious about Liberal ideas and solutions, Trudeau said he was not worried because he does not believe Poilievre proposes strong alternatives.

He even doesn’t put any solution on the table at all. He said the solutions he advocates for have been criticized by people — experts, not us — as being full of inaccuracies, unworkable, and not solving the problem.

Also, when asked if Liberals would give Poilievre and the Conservatives room to be more candid about affordability issues, Trudeau said his government has already advanced various measures to address both issues.

He pointed to last summer’s grocery discount, the childcare deals Canada struck with provinces, and the change in competition law aimed at boosting competition in the grocery sector.

He also said the things we do are meaningful, real, and thoughtful, and we are busy doing them, not just filling space on YouTube [or] amplifying concerns.

In response to rising inflation rates over the past year, the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 5 percent in July — the first time interest rates reached this level since April 2001.

Interest rates have remained steady at five percent since summer, making housing affordability one of the top political issues in 2023.

Trudeau also told Barton that young Canadians are "right to be worried" about their inability to buy a home, saying it is "almost personal" to him due to the support young voters gave his government in the 2015 election.

He added that many young people — who had never voted before, even in their early twenties — came out and supported us for the first and only time. We promised them. We will work to make things better even though we know it’s very difficult.

While agreeing more effort is needed in housing, Trudeau said programs like the Rapid Housing Initiative and the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account will help young Canadians buy homes.

When asked if he would be persuaded to step down as leader, while his party trails in the polls, Trudeau said the challenges facing the country motivate him to continue.