Poilievre draws thousands to rally
Conservative party backers pack Toronto Congress Centre, take aim at federal carbon tax
Explaining why he decided to spend his Sunday afternoon at a Conservative rally against the carbon tax, Graham Humphries expressed a common sentiment among those in attendance. “Trudeau sucks, obviously.” Humphries, 32, was joined by his wife, Kelci Wolter, who was pushing their nearly one-year-old son in a stroller. He said he actually voted for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals back in 2015. He didn’t follow politics back then, though, and just went along with what was a popular choice at the time. Now Humphries said he’s paying attention, and he believes “we’re going off a cliff.”
He couldn’t specify Trudeau’s policy failings, but he cited the housing crisis and the high cost of living as signs the country is not what it used to be.
“It’s not the Canada I was promised as a kid,” he said, adding that Pierre Poilievre offered a “beacon of hope.”
Humphries was among several thousand Conservative party supporters who packed the Toronto Congress Centre on Sunday to cheer Poilievre, who promised if he is elected he will return Canada to its pre-Trudeau glory days.
“Life was not like this before Justin Trudeau, and it won’t be like this after he’s gone,” the Conservative leader said during his 40-minute speech, which lamented a bygone era that was safer, more affordable and more familiar.
Poilievre’s populist message appears to be resonating with voters.
Several recent polls show the Conservatives leading by a significant margin, with Poilievre as the most popular of any party leader.
Supporters interviewed by the Star at Sunday’s event believe Poilievre will reduce the cost of living, return common sense to government policy and restore what they call “Canadian values,” which they said include hard work, freedom and lower taxes.
“He reinstates the Canadian values that have been in the country for so many years,” said Jennifer Jenkinson, who was attending her third Poilievre event. Jenkinson said she felt isolated and unsupported by the Trudeau government because she’s unvaccinated. But she feels welcome in the Conservative party. “Our voice is being heard.”
The main target of Sunday’s event was the Liberal government’s carbon tax, which is set to increase — along with the accompanying rebates — on April 1. A countdown clock showed the number of seconds, minutes, hours and days until the increase takes effect.
Poilievre, who said he would repeal the tax if he is elected, led the crowd in chants of “Axe the tax!” and “Spike the hike!” (A single Greenpeace protester tried to interrupt the speech at one point, but was quickly removed by police.)
Poilievre also promised to end the safe supply of hard drugs, divert funding for international aid to Canada’s military and cut the red tape on housing construction.
Poilievre’s popularity among the party faithful was clearly evident on Sunday.
Volunteers sold Poilievre-themed merchandise, including T-shirts of the Conservative leader confidently eating an apple — a reference to an interview he gave that went viral. (“An apple a day keeps the liberal journalists away,” Poilievre joked onstage.)
Other shirts promised to “Bring it home,” another one of Poilievre’s slogans. “It means bringing home the country we always knew and still love,” Poilievre said. “Right now it feels like we’re a long way from home, doesn’t it?”
Toward the end of his speech, Poilievre described idyllic scenes of what life will be like under his government. Children skipping to school without fearing for their safety. Seniors waving at friendly shopkeepers. Parents calling their road-hockey-playing kids to bed. A young couple sitting on the porch, “soaking in the warm evening air, with a Canadian flag gently hanging from the front of their brand new home.”
Poilievre’s last words could barely be heard above the cheers.
(Poilievre) reinstates the Canadian values that have been in the country for so many years. Our voice is being heard.
JENNIFER JENKINSON RALLY ATTENDEE