Canadian Premier Brian Pallister asked residents of Manitoba to follow coronavirus restrictions and safety guidelines, even if they “don’t care for” him.
Pallister gave a speech Thursday pleading with residents to continue to follow the rules after he was lowest rated premier in Canada, according to data released by Angus Reid polling.
“This year, you don’t need to like me,” Pallister said during the speech.
WATCH:
“If you don’t care for me I understand, I totally do,” Pallister said. “I’m the guy who has told you that you cannot shop. I am the person who has come forward here in front of you 75 times, and has asked you to do things you’ve never done before, and has asked you to do that every day.”
Pallister claimed he was keeping families apart for Christmas because he wanted to keep his residents “safe.” (RELATED: Trudeau Defends Restricting US-Canada Border, Extends Regulations Into 2021)
“I’m the guy who has to tell you to stay apart at Christmas and in the holiday season,” Pallister continued. “I’m that guy. And I’ll say that because it will keep you safe. I’m the guy who’s stealing Christmas to keep you safe.”
Manitoba currently has some of the strictest coronavirus lockdown measures, according to Huffpost. Non-essential business is closed and social gatherings are limited to just the immediate household, the outlet reported.
Pallister went on to call people who don’t believe that COVID-19 is real “an idiot.”
“If you don’t think that COVID is real, right now, you’re an idiot,” he said. “You need to understand that we’re all in this together, you cannot fail to understand this.”