COLUMN: Think Again – Pierre Poilievre will be the next prime minister

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This article was published 15/09/2023 (426 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a masterful speech. Pierre Poilievre brought down the house during his keynote address at the Conservative Party national convention last weekend.

During his one-hour speech, Poilievre spoke eloquently about his humble origins, gave hope to those suffering from the rising cost of living, and excoriated Justin Trudeau for abandoning our country’s proud history. It was the kind of speech that you’d expect to hear from a future prime minister.

It is often said that governments tend to defeat themselves, particularly when they have been in power for a long time. After eight years in office, Trudeau has accumulated more than his fair share of baggage. Whether it is his record high deficits, unacceptably high inflation, a steadily rising carbon tax, or the unprecedented division across our country, Trudeau has given Canadians plenty of reasons to vote him out of office.

Simply put, Trudeau is doing his best to defeat himself, and his sinking poll numbers prove it. Canadians are sick of Trudeau’s sanctimonious moralizing, his habit of apologizing for historical mistakes of the past while turning a blind eye to his own, and the way in which he sidelines any cabinet minister (e.g. Jody Wilson-Raybould) who challenges his questionable ethics. The last thing we need is another four years of Trudeau.

However, it’s not enough to wait for the Liberals to defeat themselves. Conservatives need to put forward a positive vision for our country, something that Poilievre is doing. For example, Poilievre has promised to require large cities to streamline the housing development process. If they don’t, his government will cut their federal grants.

Poilievre also proposes to sell off 15 per cent of the federal government’s 37,000 buildings with the intent of turning them into affordable housing. It’s promises like this that have caught the eye of younger Canadians. For the first time ever, the Conservative Party is leading in the 18-29 demographic with nearly 40 per cent support. The Liberals are at a distant third at 16 per cent.

Younger Canadians are fed up with a government that makes their lives more unaffordable. The last thing they need is to watch prices continue to rise as the government keeps increasing the carbon tax. That carbon tax is responsible not just for increased gas costs, but for many other price increases as well since higher transportation costs for items such as food get passed down to the consumer. It really is a tax on everything.

During his speech, Poilievre shared some heartfelt stories that he heard from Canadians across the country. He spoke about the 74-year-old retired truck driver who could not afford to pay an extra $700 per month in rent and had no choice but to move into his daughter’s basement. He also told the audience about the mother who could only afford to pay for half-price expired chicken that has given her family food poisoning.

These tragic stories are the legacy of Justin Trudeau’s eight years in office. And yet, the Liberals show no signs that they plan to change course. They have no idea how to address the rising cost of living, nor do they intend to do anything about housing prices. Instead, Liberal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is too busy flying to China and bashing Canadian energy companies, all while overlooking the abysmal record of the Chinese dictatorship that his leader admires so much.

Trudeau’s time in office is done. It’s time to clean up the mess that he has made. Canadians are ready for a prime minister who will put their needs first.

That prime minister in waiting is Pierre Poilievre.

Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and a Steinbach city councillor. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.