Ottawa | If we are to believe the polls, Pierre Poilivre is at the gates of power. This political beast has been in Parliament for 20 years, but a certain mystique hangs over him and his possible plans as a possible prime minister. Conservative journalist Andrew Laughton has just published a new biography of his life journey. Here are six things to remember.
It has a unique history
Pierre Poilievre was given up for adoption by his biological mother, Jacqueline Farrell, who became pregnant with him at the age of 16. She wanted to name him “Jeff”. He was adopted by a family of Franciscan teachers. He was 12 years old when his parents separated. Shortly thereafter his father came out as gay. He had a quiet childhood in Calgary, where he enjoyed playing laser tag, Mini golf and karting. He fell into the political soup at age 14, attending pro-life and conservative rallies for the first time with his mother. Today he calls himself pro-choice.
A freedom lover
Adopting the cause of “Freedom Convoy”, freedom was his goal from his youth. At the age of 20, he wrote a political essay with the title as part of a national competition Building Canada through Independence. You can tell he has a lot of ideas. As he will be on his eighth ballot in the next election, some passages, such as his proposal to limit politicians to two terms, have not aged well.
Always a slogan machine
You are probably familiar with “Justinflation”. Admittedly, the play on words attacking Justin Trudeau is good. Pierre Poilievre has been cultivating such nicknames for years to discredit his opponents. Joe Clark had “Jurassic Joe” and “Kyoto Joe” to poke fun at his advanced age (he’s 62) and his stances on the environment. More generally, Pierre Poilievre starts from the principle that a public policy is incomplete without being linked to a slogan, Andrew Lawton tells us.
A cappuccino snob
Pierre Poilievre goes to great lengths to develop an image of a leader close to the concerns of the “real world”. That doesn’t stop him from constantly complaining that really good cappuccinos are hard to find.
“He has no tolerance for the coffee sold in the big North American chains and often complains that no one knows how to make a good cappuccino,” Lawton writes.
At a cafe in his constituency, he is allowed to prepare one behind the counter.
He didn’t let go
Pierre Poilievre was determined in his quest to woo his future partner, Anaida Galindo.
He is an MP and she is eight years his junior as a Conservative political staffer. Their first meeting, a morning coffee before work, lasted more than four hours and earned Pierre Poilivre a parking ticket.
Like Harper or Harris?
What will the Poilievre government look like? His former and present relatives and collaborators do not provide a clear answer to this question.
In the conservative movement, Stephen Harper is seen by many as one of small-step change. Some criticize him for his conservative policies as too scary.
Adam Daifallah, one of Pierre Poilievre’s oldest collaborators, believes he is more in the school of conservative Ontario Premier Mike Harris, who implemented a “common sense revolution” between 1995 and 2002. The projects were years spent by Bob Rae’s NDP government.
Does this remind you of anything?
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
