Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is urging Ottawa to recognize Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of the July 28 presidential election, mirroring the United States’ stance.
In a
post on X on Aug. 3, Poilievre called on the Canadian government to severe ties with President Nicolás Maduro, expel his diplomats, and impose harsh sanctions.
Poilievre stated, “I am urging the Canadian government to acknowledge the opposition’s victory in the Venezuelan election.” He referenced a
CNN report from Aug. 2 titled “US says Maduro lost Venezuela election as opposition leader says she’s in hiding.”
CNN cited opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who claimed in an opinion piece for
The Wall Street Journal on Aug. 1 that she has evidence Maduro was defeated.
Machado expressed concern for her safety and praised her chosen candidate, González, for his courage. Machado was
barred from running for president in 2023 by Venezuela’s comptroller general.
The Epoch Times reached out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office for a response to Poilievre’s statement but received no immediate reply.
‘Deeply Flawed’
A press statement from the United States on Aug. 1 criticized the vote handling and results announced by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) as “deeply flawed.”
“The CNE still has not published disaggregated data or any of the vote tally sheets, despite repeated calls from Venezuelans and the international community to do so,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in the press release.
On July 28, both Maduro and González claimed victory in the election. The next day,
CNE announced Maduro’s win, but several exit polls suggested González led. Various countries, including the U.S., Chile, Peru, Italy, and Canada, expressed doubts about the results’ legitimacy.
In a statement on Aug. 1, Blinken revealed that the vote tally sheets received by the opposition coalition showed González’s significant victory. After consulting with international allies, the U.S. reiterated its belief that Maduro did not win the most votes.
Blinken affirmed, “Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”
Widespread Protests
Since CNE’s announcement on July 29, thousands of Venezuelans have protested the disputed election results. The Maduro regime has arrested numerous opposition supporters and threatened Machado and González.
Rebecca Sarfatti, an organizer in the Toronto Venezuelan community, criticized Canada’s response as “bland” in an interview with The Canadian Press.
She emphasized that other countries, like the U.S., consider the election fraudulent and urged Canada to classify Maduro as a dictator.
Canada’s relationship with Venezuela has been strained since the 2019 electoral crisis, leading the National Assembly to
declare Maduro illegitimate and install Juan Guaidó as interim president.
In a press conference on July 29, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed “serious concerns” about Venezuela’s election outcomes and voiced support for democracy in the face of a growing authoritarian regime.
‘Maximum Restraint’
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly wrote on X on July 31 that she remained troubled by reports of violence in Venezuela and observer information casting doubt on the electoral process’s integrity.
On the same day, Joly issued a
joint statement with G7 foreign ministers calling for transparency in the election results.
“We call on relevant representatives to publish the detailed electoral results transparently, and we ask electoral representatives to share all information with the opposition and independent observers,” the statement read.
While urging “maximum restraint” in Venezuela and advocating for a peaceful democratic solution, Maduro threatened in a televised speech on Aug. 1 to launch a “new revolution” if the pressure to release voting data continued.
The Canadian government has sanctioned 113 Venezuelan officials since 2017 and, along with other nations, referred Venezuela’s situation to the International Criminal Court.
On June 2, 2019, Ottawa
announced that Canadian diplomats in Venezuela would not be able to renew their accreditation under the Maduro regime, leading to the temporary suspension of the Embassy of Canada to Venezuela.
Matthew Horwood, The Associated Press, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
