Poilievre compares Charest to Trudeau with 'record of raising taxes' on Canadians

The sole declared Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre says that former Quebec Premier Jean Charest's history of raising taxes will speak for itself.

Poilievre told the National Post in an interview that Conservatives would have to reflect on if Charest would better serve the interests of the party, as Charest had a lengthy history of raising taxes on Quebecers and Canadians alike, or someone like himself, who served in the Harper government.

"I think it’s an honest policy difference," he said. "I support lower taxes on consumers. He has a record of raising taxes on consumers. He raised taxes on fuel. He raised the sales tax, and he made life more expensive for people when he was a provincial Liberal premier.

"I did the opposite. My record is that I voted to cut the GST, not raise it."

Charest has not officially announced his candidacy for the Conservative race, but has said that he is waiting on whether the campaign rules for the election race are "viable or not."

"You'll remember that two years ago I came to the conclusion that the campaign would not have been viable because there wasn't enough time for me to go out there to introduce myself to the membership and to recruit new members, so that'll be part of what we'll be looking for is are the rules viable," he said in an interview with CTV News.

"Do they allow us to do a real campaign and get ourselves known."

Poilievre continued comparing Charest to Trudeau during an event in Saskatchewan, highlighting how "both of them raised taxes on consumers to make life less affordable for everyday working people and to raise more money for politicians like them to spend. I disagree with Charest and Trudeau. I believe we should leave more money in the pockets of Canadians."

Poilievre has received the endorsements of multiple Conservative MPs, including, reportedly, former CPC leader Andrew Scheer.