Poilievre proposes letting judges order drug treatment for addiction

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre greets supporters as he visits BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple, in Toronto, Friday, April 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

RICHMOND — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Saturday, he would change the law to allow judges to order drug treatment for those struggling with addiction.

Poilievre was in Richmond, B.C. where he expanded on his plans to tackle addiction in Canada.

His latest idea would give judges the option to order mandatory drug treatment as a substitute for incarceration.

The proposal would apply to offenders whose only crimes are connected to possessing small quantities of drugs and other non-violent infractions.

Poilievre would also require rehabilitation programs in prisons for more serious offenders.

Poilievre said these proposals are appropriate in cases where those struggling with serious addiction have lost the capacity to seek recovery on their own.

“This policy is not about punishment, it’s about redemption,” he said.

“When someone is too sick to choose help, we won’t leave them without hope. We’ll help them take back control of their lives.”

He repeated pledges to shut down safe supply sites and to amend the Criminal Code to impose life sentences on those caught trafficking or producing more than 40 milligrams of fentanyl.

The Conservative campaign, which for the first time did not allow media to travel with the campaign tour and has limited journalists to four questions with no followup at Poilievre’s press events, allotted no questions to national media outlets at the Richmond announcement.

Some journalists shouted questions at Poilievre instead on Saturday, one of which he addressed about Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s platform release earlier in the day.

Poilievre lambasted the Liberal plan, which proposes a deepening of the federal deficit and trumped up spending to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States amid the trade war.

The Conservative leader said Carney’s plan would add “inflationary debt ... on the backs of Canadians.”

“This inflationary spending means higher taxes and higher costs of living and a weaker dollar,” Poilievre said.

-- Written by Craig Lord in Ottawa and Brenna Owen in Richmond, B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2025.