The Canadian political space is wound up in complicated and often confusing intricacies, practices and legalese, so where would one even start to try and educate oneself on such a large and ever-expansive topic? Well, to get a big picture understanding of Canadian politics, you must know two important people: the leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada. The Canadian parliamentary system is very hierarchical in many ways. Therefore, power is heavily concentrated within the higher-ups of the two major parties: the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. You are undoubtedly familiar with our prime minister and the leader of the Liberals, Justin Trudeau, who has been in office for almost a decade. During this time we have been witness to three Conservative leaders, leading up to Pierre Poilievre, who holds this office currently. But who is Poilievre?
Calgary native Pierre Poilievre was born to a teenage mother in 1979 and was given up for adoption as a young child to be raised by a French-Canadian couple in the suburbs. Poilievre took an interest in politics at a young age and decided to pursue a career in politics as a teenager, so he dropped out of college to move to Ottawa to work under various Conservative politicians. In 2004, at the age of 24, he successfully ran for office and became the youngest member of the Canadian parliament at the time. Poilievre completed his university studies while serving his first term as a member of parliament. In 2013, under the leadership of Stephen Harper, Poilievre found himself serving in various cabinet positions, most relevantly as the housing minister.
In recent years, Poilievre has emerged as a charismatic if polarizing figure in Canadian politics, defined by his sharp, assertive debating skills, his range of comedic takedowns of the Liberals and the prime minister in parliament, and through his viral online video content. If an election were to take place today, polling data from 338Canada.ca points to the conservatives winning approximately 41% of the popular vote and, in turn, securing a majority and beating the second place Liberals by a staggering 133 seats. Though we can confidently say that Poilievre’s flavour of conservatism is less moderate and more populist than the previous three forgettable leaders of the conservative party, what is it exactly that enables his polling success? What does Poilievre stand for?
According to Poilievre, his platform revolves around his ideas for “smaller government, bigger citizens.” This belief is at the heart of conservatism, which believes that it is in a society’s best interest to minimize bureaucracy, regulation and government intervention in economic and social activities. This attempts to strike a balance between personal autonomy and government involvement, where people are free to thrive and live as they wish, with the government serving essential functions. This manifests itself through policies that limit government spending, reduce and simplify taxation, decentralize power, and uphold the ability of an individual’s rights and freedoms’ to not be taken, altered or ignored in the favour of government rights. Though often considered a philosophy more akin to older folk, Poilievre’s message has found an especially large audience amongst younger Canadians.
This may be because newfound fears and anxiety regarding Canada’s unsettling relationship with inflation and specifically residential home costs. The era of inflationary policies and dramatic interest rates has broken the housing market in most urban settings across the country. A stats Canada report published in 2023 highlights how a typical household’s income is utilized and found that the average household in Canada pays roughly 60% of their paycheck towards house payments. This is simply not sustainable, and with houses being worth more than ever, 80% of Canadians between the ages of 18-28 believe they will never be able to afford a home. Poilievre’s tenure as the housing minister saw a golden age in smart and well paced residential development across the country, allowing for newcomers and young folk alike to be able to work towards purchasing their own homes. One of the core aspects of his platform is his promise to lower housing prices by providing financial incentives to municipalities for residential development, cutting down on wasteful government spending and reducing and simplifying taxation, leaving more money in the pockets of those who earned it.
Censorship and regulation on the content and information consumed by the general public is an increasingly relevant issue because of how social networking sites have cemented themselves into the lives of an ever-growing population. With such a large user base, the office of deciding how and what regulations and censorship are done is more powerful than ever. By being able to restrict viewpoints and information that conflicts with the interests of the organizing body, the government will essentially be able to teach viewpoints that they favour. This is currently a very relevant issue in the Canadian political world because of the content regulation bill awaiting implementation, known as Bill-C11 or the Online Streaming Act. This legislation is backed by the Liberals who have attempted to pass a similar bill 2 years ago with little success. The ability to control the flow of information is a powerful tool used by governments around the world to kill freedom of thought and expression, justified under the veil of unity. This is why it is important that our constitutional right to freedom of expression is protected on all forms of media, untampered by governments or governmental agencies. Poilievre has made it a point to stand firmly against the implementation of government censorship of information and journalism, to protect our fundamental right to the freedom of press.
In conclusion, Poilievre, as the polls would suggest, has risen to be a very popular politician and potentially the candidate most likely to hold the office of the prime minister next term. Recognized for his combative and assertive personality, knack for fiscal policies, and ability to resonate with diverse groups of people, Poilievre’s story is able to make a compelling case for the next prime minister, especially if no change occurs within leadership of the Liberal Party. His message of personal freedom and responsibility, little government interference, and tax reduction and simplification have not fallen on deaf ears in the slightest. Promising to steer the country, will our next prime minister wear blue?
THE NORTH STAR 