Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau amid an escalating diplomatic row with India, which has sent ties between the two strategic partners to their lowest level in decades.
Khalistan Strikes Ottawa-New Delhi Relations
Last month, Trudeau dropped a bombshell, accusing the "agents of the Indian government" of having a role in Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing earlier this year.
This soured relations between India and Canada, with New Delhi categorically rejecting the North American nation's allegations.
Subsequently, India suspended Visa operations in its consulates and High Commission in Canada before asking Ottawa to withdraw a large number of its diplomats from the South Asian country.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that the move was made to bring about parity in the context of the "mutual diplomatic presence" of Canadians in the world's largest democratic sovereign state.
Furthermore, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar underlined that Canadian diplomats residing in India were interfering in its internal matters.
Trudeau - A Laughing Stock in India
Against this background, Poilievre dubbed Trudeau as "incompetent and unprofessional" before vowing to restore ties with India.
"Justin Trudeau is considered a laughing stock in India – the world's biggest democracy," Poilievre said in a recent interview with a Toronto-based radio channel.
"He is so incompetent and unprofessional that now we are in major disputes with every major power in the world, and that includes India," he added.
With the leader of the opposition publicly slamming Trudeau, interest in him in India has witnessed a sudden surge, with netizens surfing the internet to know more about him. In this light, Sputnik India tries to find out the key aspects of Poilievre's public life.
Poilievre - The Next PM of Canada?
Poilievre, currently serves as the leader of the Conservative Party, the main opposition outfit in Canada.
The 44-year-old, who won his first parliamentary election in 2004, is an MP from Carleton at present.
Since September 2022, Poilievre has been the official leader of the opposition in parliament.
Poilievre was among the first ones to tap into public anger over the rising cost of living in Canada, accusing the Trudeau-led government of doing nothing to ease out people's concerns about surging inflation in the country.
He is an alumnus of the University of Calgary, graduating in international relations from a higher educational institution located in his hometown.
Poilievre married online magazine publisher Anaida Galindo in 2018 and the couple has had two children together.
What Pollsters Say About Trudeau's Chances of Retaining Power
His right-leaning Conservative Party has suffered three poll losses to Trudeau in a row since 2015 but latest surveys suggest if the elections were conducted now, his party will remove the Liberals from power.
Last month, Canadian media outlet Global News carried out a poll, in which at least 40 percent of people said that they backed Poilievre's candidature for Prime Ministership, while Trudeau came a distant second with only 31 percent supporting him.
But national polls in Canada are some time away, scheduled to be held in October 2025.