2 years ago
OTTAWA, Ont. — Pierre Poilievre says he wants to fight for the little guy.
The outspoken, combative, longtime member of Parliament won a resounding victory Saturday in the race to lead Canada’s opposition Conservatives, in which he railed against “elites,” “gatekeepers” and “woke culture.” He will now set his sights on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he says is running a “tired and out-of-touch” government.
During his first speech to the Conservative caucus on Monday, Poilievre focused on the plight of Canadians struggling with the cost of living. He said he wants to ensure Canada is a country “with a small government and big citizens, where the state is servant and the people are the masters.”
Here are five key things to know about the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
1. Poilievre comes from what he calls “humble beginnings.”
As he has repeated often of late — during his victory speech on Saturday, in his speech Monday and in an op-ed published over the weekend — he was born to a teenage mother and adopted by schoolteachers who raised him in a modest home in Calgary.
“Only in Canada is this story possible — possible for anybody to do anything they want as long as they’re prepared to work hard and put their mind to it,” he said Monday.
His origin story allows him to claim credibility among the working- and middle-class voters whose support he seeks. It also sets him up in opposition to Trudeau, who was born while his father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister.
2. He's a political animal.
Poilievre is a career politician who was elected to Parliament in 2004 at age 25, becoming the youngest MP in the House of Commons at the time. Now 43, he is in his seventh term in office, representing an Ottawa-area riding.
Poilievre spent years as a backbencher in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, where he became known as an effective attack dog — fiercely partisan and aggressive, never one to back down from a fight.
In 2013, Harper made him a Cabinet minister until the Conservatives’ defeat in the 2015 election, when Trudeau led the Liberals to form a majority government. The Conservatives have been in opposition ever since.
3. His core values haven't changed.
Poilievre has always been an advocate of small government, fiscal prudence and individual freedom, and has vowed to take the Liberals to task over the rising cost of living and what he calls “Justinflation.”
He has promised to reform Canada’s tax system with cuts to income and payroll taxes, and wants to scrap the Liberals’ price on carbon. During his speech to caucus on Monday, he issued a challenge to Trudeau.
“If you really understand the suffering of Canadians, Mr. Prime Minister, if you understand that people can’t gas their cars, feed their families or afford homes for themselves, if you really care, commit today that there will be no new tax increases on workers and on seniors. None,” he said.
4. His campaign was fueled by populist appeal.
During his leadership bid, he adopted a populist tone intended to attract disaffected, working-class voters. He supported the “Freedom Convoy” protest that occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks last winter in opposition to the government’s vaccine mandates.
He has flirted with conspiracy theories by telling cheering crowds his ministers would not be allowed to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. He has also taken aim at nonpartisan institutions like the Bank of Canada, promising to fire the central bank governor over surging inflation.
Those elements of his campaign didn’t get a mention in his victory speech or his speech to caucus. His populist approach has been highly effective at motivating the Conservative base and drawing in new members, but it remains to be seen whether it will work in a general election.
5. He's out to become a working-class hero.
He has been compared to former President Donald Trump for his populist overtures, but in terms of substance, he has largely confined himself to pocketbook issues. He is pro-immigration — his wife is a Venezuelan immigrant — and now calls himself pro-choice.
Still, he seems keen to make the Conservative party the new home of Canada’s working-class voters, replicating the same political realignment that has taken root in the U.S., the U.K. and, more recently, in the Canadian province of Ontario under Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford.
“Canadians are hurting,” he said Monday. “And it is our job to transform that hurt into hope.”
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