{"id":107343,"date":"2025-01-09T06:03:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T06:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/01\/09\/the-man-who-could-become-canadas-future-pm\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T06:03:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T06:03:07","slug":"the-man-who-could-become-canadas-future-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/the-man-who-could-become-canadas-future-pm\/","title":{"rendered":"The man who could become Canada\u2019s future PM"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 20 years old, Pierre Poilievre already had a roadmap for Canada.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Conservative Party leader \u2013 now 45 \u2013 laid out a low-tax, small government vision for the country in an essay contest on what he would do as prime minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cA dollar left in the hands of consumers and investors is more productive than a dollar spent by a politician,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Poilievre is one step closer to making his vision a reality, and even gave a nod to the essay in a recent interview with conservative psychologist and commentator Jordan Peterson.<\/p>\n

For months, Poilievre\u2019s Conservatives have enjoyed a large lead over the struggling Liberals in national surveys, suggesting they would win a majority government if an election were held today.<\/p>\n

Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he\u2019s standing down, and with an election likely to be called soon, Poilievre is promising a return to \u201ccommon sense politics\u201d.<\/p>\n

For Canadians frustrated with a sluggish economy and a housing and affordability crisis, he is offering an alternative to what he has labelled as Trudeau\u2019s \u201cauthoritarian socialism\u201d.<\/p>\n

A win would make him part of a wave of populist leaders on the right who have toppled incumbent governments in the west.<\/p>\n

While it has invited comparisons to Donald Trump \u2013 and he has fans like Elon Musk and others in the US president-elect\u2019s orbit \u2013 Poilievre story is very much a Canadian one.<\/p>\n

A Calgarian with his eyes set on Ottawa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Poilievre was born in Canada\u2019s western province of Alberta to a 16-year-old mother who put him up for adoption. He was taken in by two school teachers, who raised him in suburban Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always believed that it is voluntary generosity among family and community that are the greatest social safety net that we can ever have,\u201d he told Maclean\u2019s Magazine in 2022, reflecting on his early life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of my starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a teenager, Poilievre showed an early interest in politics, and canvassed for local conservatives.<\/p>\n

Poilievre was studying international relations at the University of Calgary when he met Stockwell Day, who served as a cabinet minister under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.<\/p>\n

At the time, Day was seeking the leadership of the Canadian Alliance \u2013 a right-wing party with Alberta roots that became part of the modern-day Conservatives in a 2003 merger \u2013 and he tapped Poilievre to help with campus outreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe impressed me from the start,\u201d Day told the BBC in an interview. \u201cHe seemed to be a level-headed guy, but full of energy and able to catch people\u2019s attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Day\u2019s leadership bid was successful, and he set out for Ottawa with Poilievre as his assistant. Some time after, Poilievre walked into his office on a cold winter night to ask his opinion about potentially running for office.<\/p>\n

Poilievre went on to win a seat in Ottawa in 2004 at the age of 25, making him one of the youngest elected Conservatives at the time. He has held that seat since.<\/p>\n

From \u201cSkippy\u201d to party leader<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Ottawa, Poilievre was given the nickname Skippy by peers and foes alike due to to his youthful enthusiasm and sharp tongue.<\/p>\n

He built a reputation for being \u201chighly combative and partisan\u201d, said Randy Besco, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n

Behind the closed doors of Conservative caucus meetings, Poilievre showed his diplomatic side, Day said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPierre was always good at saying, \u2018Okay, you know what? I hadn\u2019t thought of that,\u2019 or he would listen and say: \u2018Have you thought of this?’\u201d said Day.<\/p>\n

Still, confrontational politics became a cornerstone of Poilievre\u2019s public persona. After becoming Conservative leader in 2022, he would target Trudeau with biting remarks as a way to connect with disaffected voters.<\/p>\n

It has landed him in trouble at times. In April, he was expelled from the House of Commons for calling the prime minister a \u201cwacko\u201d.<\/p>\n

Poilievre told the Montreal Gazette in June that he is a fan of \u201cstraight talk\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when politesse is in conflict with the truth, I choose the truth,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve been too polite for too long with our political class.\u201d<\/p>\n

His combative style has also been divisive, and he has been criticised for oversimplifying complex issues for political gain.<\/p>\n

While Canadians have been open to the opposition leader\u2019s message as a change from Trudeau\u2019s brand of progressive politics, just over half of them hold an unfavourable opinion of him,\u00a0according to the latest polls.<\/p>\n

Poilievre has also had to shift his sights since Trudeau\u2019s resignation announcement, to get ahead of the inevitable match-up between him and the next Liberal leader.<\/p>\n

Poilievre on populism, immigration and Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Conservative leader has been described as a \u201csoft\u201d populist for his direct appeals to everyday Canadians and criticism of establishment elites, including corporate Canada.<\/p>\n

He came out in support of those who protested vaccine mandates during the 2021 \u201cFreedom Convoy\u201d demonstrations that gridlocked Ottawa for weeks.<\/p>\n

He has pledged to deliver \u201cthe biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history\u201d, promising to keep repeat offenders behind bars.<\/p>\n

On social matters, Poilievre has rarely weighed in \u2013 something Prof Besco said is typical of senior Conservatives, who see these topics as \u201ca losing issue\u201d.<\/p>\n

While Poilievre voted against legalising gay marriage in the early 2000s, he recently said it will remain legal \u201cfull stop\u201d if he is elected.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives also do not support legislation to regulate abortion, though they allow MPs to vote freely on the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would lead a small government that minds its own business,\u201d Poilievre said in June.<\/p>\n

Amid a\u00a0public debate in Canada in recent months\u00a0on immigration, the party has said it would tie levels of newcomers to the number of new homes built, and focus on bringing in skilled workers.<\/p>\n

Poilievre\u2019s wife, Anaida, arrived in Canada as a child refugee from Caracas, Venezuela.<\/p>\n

The Conservative leader has pushed for the integration of newcomers, saying Canada does not need to be a \u201chyphenated society\u201d.<\/p>\n

One of his major promises \u2013 to cut Trudeau\u2019s national carbon pricing programme, arguing it is a financial burden for families \u2013 has raised questions over how his government would tackle pressing issues like climate change.<\/p>\n

Canada also faces the threat of steep tariffs when Trump takes office later this month, with the US-Canada relationship expected to be a major challenge.<\/p>\n

Poilievre has pushed back at\u00a0Trump\u2019s comments suggesting Canada become a 51st\u00a0US state, vowing to \u201cput Canada first\u201d.<\/p>\n

He has not stepped much into foreign policy otherwise, with his messaging focused instead on restoring \u201cthe Canadian dream\u201d.<\/p>\n

Above all, Poilievre says he wants to do away with \u201cgrandiosity\u201d and \u201cutopian wokesim\u201d that he believes has defined the Trudeau era, in favour of the \u201cthe things that are grand and great about the common people\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been saying precisely the same thing this entire time,\u201d he told Mr Peterson.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post The man who could become Canada\u2019s future PM<\/a> appeared first on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 20 years old, Pierre Poilievre already had a roadmap for Canada. Canada\u2019s Conservative Party leader \u2013 now 45 \u2013 laid out a low-tax, small government vision for the country in an essay contest on what he would do as prime minister. \u201cA dollar left in the hands of consumers and investors is more productive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}