What if Pierre Poilievre becomes the Prime Minister of the country next year? With the 20-point lead Canada’s Conservative Party has enjoyed for more than a year, it’s time to ask this question definitively.
The obvious drawback to power for the Liberals and Justin Trudeau is certainly one. But to consider handing over the keys to a majority federal government to Pierre Poilievre is quite another.
why To begin with, Pierre Poilievre has some exceptional qualities in Canadian political dynamics that it would be wise to pay attention to.
Although the polls technically put him in the role of Prime Minister “in waiting”, the reality is that he has not adopted the tone, style or approach.
Instead of seeing him learn to rise above the fray and combine divergent interests while maintaining his own convictions — in short, getting the look of a politician in the making — it’s quite the opposite.
It remains sharp. Extreme polarization. Considered a populist with empty slogans like “common sense”. Incitement of his enemies is also his favorite recipe.
On an ideological level, there is nothing to suggest that he will not remain the leader of a federal political party on the right of the spectrum. That is, according to him, the role of the government should be minimal.
What to expect?
So we can expect the dental insurance program established by the Liberals at the request of the NDP to be dismantled, among other things.
For many Canadians and Quebecers, the plan, while imperfect, is a major improvement in public health.
What about public transport and the fight against climate change, an important tool?
Pierre Poilievre’s disconnect from reality in favor of a third highway link to Quebec does not happen at the same time as his rejection of a realistic tramway plan.
And deference to provincial jurisdiction? With all due respect to François Legault, known for his chemistry with conservatives, there is no significant clarity on the horizon.
What you see is what you get
As evidence, Mr. Poilievre’s “strong arms” method, which is not legal here, requires municipalities to directly finance housing construction.
And be careful. Only mayors obeying his own zonal ordinances — a power he doesn’t even have.
In short, as the British say, at the gates of power, with Pierre Poilievre: What you see is what you get. However, it is a matter to be well understood.
So, a little exercise in political programming… If the past and the present guarantee the future, the reality is that when Pierre Poilievre takes office next year as Prime Minister of Canada, he will still be his equal.
Justin Trudeau in all this? Whose Conservative leader himself committed the original sin of causing all of Canada’s ills, real or imagined?
If Pierre Poilievre were prime minister, by definition, he would have lost his main sparrow-scare stick at the same time. Oops…
But if Justin Trudeau, whatever he says, leaves politics in the months to find a new leader, what will Pierre Poilivre do, who suddenly lost his scarecrow before going to the polls?
Then he loses himself a lot.
