A man who could become Canada’s future PM

At the age of 20, Pierre Poiliev already had a road map to Canada.

The leader of Canada’s Conservative Party – now 45 – laid out his low-tax, small-government vision for the country in an essay contest about what he would do as prime minister.

“A dollar left in the hands of consumers and investors is more productive than a dollar spent by a politician,” he said.

Poilievre is one step closer to making his vision a reality, and even hinted at the attempt in a recent interview with conservative psychologist and commentator Jordan Peterson.

For months, Poilievre’s conservatives have held a large lead over the struggling Liberals in polls, suggesting they would win a majority government if elections were held today.

Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down, and with an election likely to be called, Poilievre promises a return to “common sense politics”.

For Canadians frustrated with a sluggish economy and a housing and affordability crisis, it is offering an alternative to what Trudeau has dubbed “authoritarian socialism.”

A win would make him part of a wave of right-wing populist leaders who have toppled incumbent governments in the West.

Although he’s invited comparisons to Donald Trump – and has fans like Elon Musk in the US president-elect’s orbit – Poilievre’s story is very Canadian.

Poilievre was born in the western Canadian province of Alberta to a 16-year-old mother who put her up for adoption. He was taken in by two school teachers, and raised in the suburbs of Calgary.

“I’ve always believed that voluntary generosity between family and community is the greatest social safety net we can ever have,” he told Maclean’s magazine in 2022, reflecting on his early life.

“That’s my starting point.”

As a teenager, Poilievre showed an early interest in politics, and supported local conservatives.

Poilievre was studying international relations at the University of Calgary when he met Stockwell Day, who was a cabinet minister under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.

At the time, Day was seeking leadership of the Canadian Alliance — a right-wing party with roots in Alberta that became part of the current Conservatives in a 2003 merger — and turned to Poilievre to help with campus outreach.

“It surprised me from the start,” Day told the BBC in an interview. “He seemed to be the type of guy, but full of energy and able to attract people’s attention.”

Day’s leadership bid was successful, and he headed to Ottawa with Poilievre as his assistant. Some time later, Poilievre went into his office on a cold winter night to ask his opinion.

Poilievre won a seat in Ottawa in 2004 at the age of 25, becoming one of the youngest Conservatives ever elected. He has held that seat ever since.

In Ottawa, Poilievre was nicknamed Skippy by peers and enemies alike for his youthful enthusiasm and sharp tongue.

He built a reputation for being “very combative and partisan,” said Randy Besco, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

In closed-door Conservative meetings, Poilievre showed his diplomatic side, Day said.

“Pierre was always good at saying, ‘Okay, you know what? I didn’t think of that,’ or listening and saying, ‘Did you think of this?'” Day said.

However, confrontational politics became the basis of Poilievre’s public persona. After becoming Conservative leader in 2022, he would target Trudeau with stinging remarks as a way to connect with disaffected voters.

Sometimes it has caused problems. In April, he was expelled from the House of Commons for calling the Prime Minister a “table”.

Poilievre told the Montreal Gazette in June that he is a fan of “fair debate.”

“I think when kindness conflicts with the truth, I choose the truth,” he said. “I think we’ve been too polite to our political class for too long.”

His combative style has also been divisive, and he has been criticized for oversimplifying complex issues for political gain.

While Canadians have been receptive to the opposition leader’s message to rebrand Trudeau’s progressive politics, more than half have a negative opinion. according to recent surveys.

Poilievre has also had to change his approach since announcing Trudeau’s resignation in anticipation of the inevitable matchup between him and the next Liberal leader.

The Conservative leader has been described as a “soft” populist for his direct appeals to everyday Canadians and criticism of elites, including corporate Canada.

The 2021 “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations came in support of those protesting the vaccine mandates as Ottawa locked down for weeks.

He has pledged to deliver the “biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history,” promising to keep repeat offenders behind bars.

On social issues, Poilievre has rarely rated – which Professor Besco says is typical of high-profile conservatives, who see these issues as “loser issues”.

Although Poilievre voted against legalizing gay marriage in the early 2000s, he recently said he will be “full stop” for the law if elected.

Conservatives also do not support legislation to regulate abortion, although they allow MPs to vote on the issue.

“I would run a small government that minds its own business,” Poilievre said in June.

A in the middle public debate in Canada in recent months in terms of immigration, the party has said that it will link the level of newcomers to the number of new homes built, and looking to bring in qualified workers.

Poilievre’s wife, Anaida, arrived in Canada as a child refugee from Caracas, Venezuela.

The Conservative leader has encouraged the integration of newcomers, and said that Canada should not be a “hyphenated society”.

One of his main promises – to scale back Trudeau’s national carbon pricing program, which he argues is a financial burden on families – has raised questions about his government’s handling of pressing issues such as climate change.

Canada also faces the threat of tough tariffs when Trump takes office at the end of the month, which is expected to pose a major challenge to the US-Canada relationship.

Poilievre has backed off Trump’s comments suggest making Canada the 51st The US state vows to “put Canada first”.

Otherwise, he has not dabbled much in foreign policy, focusing his messages on restoring the “Canadian dream”.

Above all, Poiliev says he wants to get rid of the “grandiosity” and “utopian wokesim” that have defined the Trudeau era, in favor of “things that are big and big for ordinary people.”

“I’ve said the same thing all along,” he told Mr. Peterson.