Canada’s Conservative party blasted Prime Minister Trudeau, who leads the Liberal Party, on Twitter for taking advantage of his office’s itinerary.
They suggested that he takes “personal” days too often, due to his official schedule. The message on the Conservatives’ official account, now deleted, reportedly took aim at Trudeau’s day-off following his latest trip to Quebec, where he attended the local Fete Nationale celebration.
READ MORE: Canadian Prime Minister Gets Angry Reception During Quebec Visit
Annnd the CPC just deleted the tweet, creating an awful conundrum for those who have vigorously defended it pic.twitter.com/i21lRfV0RQ
— Robyn Urback (@RobynUrback) 25 июня 2018 г.
The post provided a link to a special web page: IsJustinTrudeauOnVacation.ca, set-up to reveal the “vacations” the Prime Minister has taken since the start of his term.
According to the Canadian newspaper Star, which drew the row into the spotlight, the Conservatives and their leader Andrew Scheer have not responded to the request for a comment.
The media also cited the spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office, suggesting the site can’t reveal anything, as Trudeau’s daily schedule and his “personal “days are regularly published on his official web-site.
“Canadians and the media have a right to know where he is and what he’s generally doing,” Ahmad told the Star.
This sparked heated debates on social media. Some defended the Prime Minister and lashed out at the Conservatives for the accusation, which they consider “slander.”
#Conservatives are doxing people now! This is worse than petty, beyond their odious "negative framing" tactics it's workplace bullying, slander, LIES!#cdnpoli#Trudeau#cdnmedia
— Essie Bee 🇨🇦🌎🇨🇦 (@sblogga) 26 июня 2018 г.
"Conservatives" attack Trudeau for taking ‘personal’ day https://t.co/yObB5hHMhu via @torontostar
God help us all if this man becomes PM, or the Conservative party comes into power pic.twitter.com/NGNOLpuAiu
— Sheldon Pardy (@SheldonP) 26 июня 2018 г.
I know I come back to work better after a personal day or #vacation. It is a big help to maintaining my #mentalhealth. https://t.co/cDjbqIUUXL via @torontostar
— Marisa (@Young__Tulip) 26 июня 2018 г.
You would think most of the country would want their leader to be as productive as possible, which means taking time off to rest and recharge https://t.co/4D4IVqhrlm
— JK (@political_jk) 26 июня 2018 г.
Others lambasted him for too many breaks and taking his office “for a part-time job.”
Sorry to hear it's deleted. Why do you back a PM who thinks running Canada is a part time job? Maybe you as a so called journalist should be holding his feet to the fire over his time away from government instead of being his cheerleader. Silly me CBC.
— Ms. Donna (@DCTFTW) 25 июня 2018 г.
The media doesn’t get it. No one is saying @JustinTrudeau can’t have a personal day. The issue is he’s already taken 16 personal days in 2018, and we're not even halfway through the year.
— Ontario Proud (@ontarioisproud) 25 июня 2018 г.
Canadians work hard, so should their prime minister #cdnpolihttps://t.co/Bl9iQD2mWz
Lazy Justin Trudeau takes another “personal day” off. I mean, he taped a poutine video the other day, surely that’s good enough? https://t.co/UV7fIa2ISi
— Ezra Levant 🇨🇦 (@ezralevant) 25 июня 2018 г.
Justin Trudeau takes yet another personal day…he's probably sick… #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/QK5Rj3WKCi
— cdnpolitoon (@cdnpolitoon) 25 июня 2018 г.
This came just days after Trudeau faced a backlash over the spending during the PM's trip to India in February of this year. According to them, Trudeau spent a little over $1.5 million on a trip, that according to conservatives in the national parliament, did nothing except worsen bilateral ties. Some slammed the "outrageous" spending, specifically scolding the Canadian PM for paying $17,044 to Vikram Vij, a chef from Vancouver to prepare a meal for a meeting in New Delhi.