Furey admonishes moves 'straight out of a Trump playbook' as pre-election rhetoric ramps up

Premier Andrew Furey took shots at what he called a deteriorating political climate in Newfoundland and Labrador Tuesday, as the province's politicians appear to be preparing for an upcoming election.

Furey spoke in St. John's at what he billed a "state of the province address," saying at one point in his speech that some political actors — who he declined to name specifically — should revise their messaging strategies.

"Do better than posting childish rhetoric online," Furey said. "Do better than posting fake quotes, all in an attempt to score political points and sow discord. 

"Be better than stoking fears with misinformation. These are moves straight out of a Trump playbook, and the people of this province see it for what it is: divisive, at times hurtful, and always wrong."

Furey later told reporters his statement was intended as a broad rebuke when asked whether he was criticizing the PC Party — whose new slogan is "Better Starts Now" — directly.

"That's a tactic that they've employed, it's not one that I would employ," Furey answered. "But I'm challenging everybody to elevate the debate to truth [and] facts.… Making things personal, trying to turn complex issues into slogans and Dr. Seuss rhymes, doesn't work."

Reporters asked PC Leader Tony Wakeham about Furey's comments on Wednesday, shortly after the province delivered its fall fiscal update. 

Wakeham told reporters it's "disappointing" that Furey is focused on social media posts.

"One would expect the premier to be focusing on the 175,000 people who say they don't have access to a family physician," Wakeham said.

"I'm not paying any attention, to be honest, [to] what the premier has to say when it comes to social media. What I'm focused on, again, is how we help people in Newfoundland and Labrador."

Wakeham did not address his party's messaging tactics, which include graphics and images of Furey posted to the official PC Party social media pages.

It's not clear whether Furey was referring specifically to these posts during his speech. The premier, instead, told reporters he was seeing the strategy everywhere.

"I think if you look at the political discourse across the country … you can see extremes of views and capitalizing on mistruths and silly Dr. Seuss rhymes with no substance, trying to score quick political points," he said. 

"I don't think that's what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians expect out of their leaders and politicians. I don't think it's what they rightfully demand. And it's a challenge that I'm throwing to everybody, to elevate the discourse."

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.