Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre challenged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the real size of the federal deficit, suggesting that Trudeau “doesn’t know” what the federal budget deficit was in 2023.

Poilievre pointed to a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) that said the federal government’s projected deficit exceeded the Liberals’ promised $40 billion cap in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

“Mister Speaker, he doesn’t know. I was tempted to accuse him of hiding it, but as Napoleon Bonaparte said: ‘Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence,” he said.

“Mr. Speaker, who’s actually running this government?”

Trudeau did not answer Poilievre’s question about the budget but said he was “focused on Canadians.”