What Justin Trudeau said on Stephen Colbert’s show

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during his debut on the U.S. late-night show “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert on Monday night that many Canadians are “taking out their frustration about the cost of living on me for understandable reasons.”

Trudeau made the comments after Colbert asked about Tuesday's no-confidence motion against the Trudeau government and the Liberal Party's declining poll numbers.

“The idea that Canadians might want an election now is something my opponents are banking on,” Trudeau told Colbert.

On Tuesday, the Conservatives will table a no-confidence motion to oust the Trudeau government and force a new election. The election date is currently set for October 2025. But the Bloc Québécois and the NDP have already announced they will vote against the motion. That vote is scheduled for Wednesday.

After the NDP terminated its confidence vote agreement with the Liberals earlier this month, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said he would seek a confidence vote “at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Speaking to Colbert, Trudeau said Canada's economic outlook is “more positive” than the U.S., but many “don't feel that when they go grocery shopping. So there's a lot of frustration.”

Trudeau also addressed the housing crisis in Canada.

“Some of the things are a little more difficult in Canada because we've lost some ground in housing over the last few decades,” Trudeau said. “So the housing crisis is a little more acute.”

The Prime Minister took the opportunity to criticize Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre after Colbert called the opposition leader the “Canadian Trump.” Instead, she pointed to programs such as dental care, drug coverage and $10-a-day child care.

In his interview on Monday evening, when asked by Colbert what the two countries are “arguing” about, Trudeau also addressed the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the United States.

“I mean, you're paying too much for your lumber because there are tariffs on it, and that doesn't make sense,” Trudeau joked to Colbert.

At the beginning of the year, the United States almost doubled its tariffs on softwood lumber imports from Canada, from 8.05 percent to 14.54 percent.

Colbert also asked Trudeau about Canada's role on the world stage and the rise of far-right movements around the world.

Trudeau is currently attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.