Attempting perhaps to turn a story about his own leadership into a story about whether the Canadian news media have unfairly focused on dissent within the Conservative caucus , Pierre Poilievre challenged reporters on Wednesday to pay as much attention to the recent criticism levelled against the federal government's budget by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.

Of course, that Erskine-Smith might deviate from the Liberal government's official line is hardly surprising at this point. The left-leaning Liberal backbencher has spent much of the past decade displaying a willingness to go his own way , so much so that many members of the parliamentary press gallery probably no longer consider it newsworthy when he does.

Whatever his quibbles and criticisms, Erskine-Smith also

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