'I'm right here, bro': Singh, Poilievre have tense exchange during question period

Tensions escalated between NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during a heated question period on Thursday, with Singh at one point stepping into the aisle to confront Poilievre.

Poilievre used his first round of questioning to criticize the Bloc Québécois and NDP after both parties said they would not support a non-confidence motion to bring down the Liberal government.

In his fifth question, Poilievre accused Singh of breaking the NDP's agreement with the Liberals, suggesting Singh had done so to hold onto a seat in a recent Winnipeg byelection.

"Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them," Poilievre said, alleging that Singh was supporting the Liberals to secure his MP pension. He went on to call Singh "a fake, a phony, and a fraud," and questioned how anyone could trust the NDP leader in the future.

Singh stood up and began shouting at Poilievre during the Conservative leader's remarks, according to witnesses. When Poilievre finished speaking, the House descended into a verbal clash between the Conservative and NDP benches.

Singh then left his seat, walked into the aisle, and shouted at Poilievre. Multiple MPs told CBC News that Singh said, "I'm right here, bro," while others simply heard him say, "I'm right here."

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux said he couldn’t clearly hear what Singh said but noted that Singh "looked upset and somewhat confrontational," which seemed to amuse Poilievre.

As Speaker Greg Fergus attempted to calm the situation, Poilievre was seen on camera pointing at Singh and saying, "Do it," several times.

After a few minutes, order was restored, and Fergus reminded MPs that "Canadians are looking at us," urging them to conduct themselves with respect for their constituencies and the country.

Earlier, Poilievre had opened question period by criticizing the Bloc Québécois and asking three questions in French about why the party would not back the Conservative non-confidence motion. Questions during this period are meant to be directed at the government, but after Poilievre’s first two questions were aimed at the Bloc, ministers refrained from responding.

Despite pointing out that Poilievre’s questions were unrelated to the government, Fergus had to continue with the Conservative leader’s queries, calling the situation "uncomfortable."

Following Singh’s outburst, Fergus reiterated that question period is intended to hold the government accountable.

"Colleagues, for this to work, we also have to make sure that we work within the rules that we have," he reminded the House. "We have many other tools available to us to make the comments we need outside of question period."

The vote on the Conservative non-confidence motion is expected next week.