Pierre Poilievre attracts crowds to his rallies and thousands of clicks from Internet users on his social networks. The member for Ottawa is considered to be the great leader of the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party, facing Jean Charest. But despite his 18 years in active politics, this star of the Conservative family remains little known in Quebec. Portrait of this ambitious politician, adored by some, unloved by others.
Elected MP for the suburbs of Ottawa at the age of 25 in 2004, Pierre Poilievre has since won his election six times. His political career began even earlier: selling Reform Party membership cards for Jason Kenney at the age of 16, then getting involved in Stockwell Day’s Canadian Alliance leadership campaign. .
Over the years, the now 42-year-old MP has become one of the most popular in the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). He sits on the list of the most important fundraisers of the formation. He has 517,000 followers on Facebook, 334,000 on Twitter. His political rallies over the past week have drawn hundreds of people to Ontario.
Pierre Poilievre had prepared to embark on the last leadership race two years ago, but had withdrawn. He’s been cooking up his revenge ever since.
The attraction of the candidate is undeniable, and his machine is well run. After a speech of about twenty minutes, Pierre Poilievre offers his supporters to have their picture taken with him and his wife. When they leave, his supporters are accosted by volunteers who make sure that they are members of the party in order to be able to support him.
His speech is in tune with what more and more conservatives in Canada want to hear: a promise of freedom, in all its forms.
Freedom of expression, including on the web, where liberals want to crack down on hate speech; the freedom to oppose “wokism” and ” cancel culture » ; energy freedom, by stopping all oil imports from abroad; monetary freedom, through the use of bitcoin to “give Canadians back control over their money”.
But above all, the freedom to go through the pandemic without a mask and without a vaccine. His call for an end to all public health orders and for the defense of truckers who protested in February drew some of the biggest applause for him at a rally in Ottawa on Thursday night, punctuated by “Freedom! shouted by an unmasked crowd (with a handful of exceptions), whose members either said they were unvaccinated or refused to specify.
Double-edged straight talk
His wife, Anaida Poilievre, a Venezuelan refugee who arrived in Quebec as a child, presents him as a “fighter”. And it is his outspokenness that his supporters salute in turn. “He is genuine. He says what everyone in Canada feels, but is too afraid to express, ”said Mike Griffin, a former soldier who immediately published on his social networks his photo taken with the Poilievre couple Thursday evening.
Jean Charest criticized his rival in this race for wanting to “Americanize” Canadian politics.
At the microphone to introduce Pierre Poilievre Thursday evening, former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer in turn saluted his friend’s outspokenness. “He’s not going to listen to our enemies on the left, in the Liberals, the NDP, and the media, who are going to outlaw us to prevent us from being who we are, from fighting for what we believe in. »
These kinds of outings create unease within the conservative family, and even for some members of the Poilievre team. But they are acclaimed by his supporters.
If Scott, 23, agrees to explain that he supports the candidate because of his opposition to the federal carbon tax and the sanitary measures imposed during the pandemic, his friend – who remains anonymous – on the other hand refuses to speak to the “media bought” by the Trudeau government’s tax credits. Half of the Conservatives polled by The duty Thursday night declined to discuss.
Pierre Poilievre’s promise to “defund the CBC” will be the most applauded of the evening. The man did not take any questions from the media after his speech.
An ambition to achieve
The career politician served as Minister for Democratic Reform as well as Employment and Social Development at the end of Stephen Harper’s government.
His designs on the CCP leadership seemed to come to light as early as 2015, when he was criticized for filming and posting slick videos featuring him as minister to promote the Universal Child Care Benefit. children, in which officials from the Ministry of Employment participated during their working hours. Mr. Poilievre had refused to apologize.
His transition to the Democratic Reform was also eventful. His major overhaul of the Election Act had been denounced from all sides, because it tightened the possibility for voters to decline their identity on the spot to vote as well as the right to speak of the Chief Electoral Officer (DGE). Mr. Poilievre ended up modifying the most criticized elements of his law. But he went after the DGE along the way. This had led the former Auditor General of Canada Sheila Fraser to worry that this kind of attack “undermines the credibility of democratic institutions”.
Seven years later, the truth-telling of Pierre Poilievre who had put him in hot water now seems his greatest asset to seduce conservative activists. “He says that we, the citizens, are the masters. That the politician is the servant. And that’s what democracy is. Democracy is not having a prime minister who becomes a tyrant,” argues Edward Atraghjy, a longtime Pierre Poilievre voter in his riding who does not hold Justin Trudeau close to his heart.
These hundreds of curious people, who come to see Mr. Poilievre on stage, will however also have to offer him their vote for the leadership. The campaign team is well aware of this. This is why the candidate repeats to the crowd that it is necessary to become a member of the party before June 3, and also why volunteers are busy selling cards on the spot. They reportedly recruited 250 new members Thursday night, according to the Poilievre team.
Andrea Doyle has supported her MP for years, but isn’t yet convinced he has the makings of a leader. “I want to see if he can bring people together,” said the 71-year-old lady, a little annoyed to have been waiting for the candidate to arrive for an hour. “This party desperately needs to be reunited. Otherwise, we will fragment, and the Conservative Party will be nothing more than a party of its last faithful. »
Richard Vezina, who had just bought himself a membership card to support Pierre Poilievre, seemed to agree with Mme Doyle and confirm his fears, shared by several party apparatchiks. “I have always voted Conservative. But if he does not become the next leader of the Conservative Party, I will consider voting for the People’s Party of Canada [de Maxime Bernier], he confided. Because Bernier also defends freedom. »