« Au see again (Justin Trudeau). Finally ! » headlined the daily The Toronto Sun. From the confines of the cold province of Saskatchewan to populous Toronto, Canadians raised cries of relief at the announcement of the resignation of the head of government.
His successor should, barring any surprises, be an ultraconservative with ideas close to Donald Trump, Pierre Poilievre. The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (PCC) since 2022 has been racing in the polls for two years. At 45, this trained communications consultant appeals to a segment of the population frustrated by inflation, the lack of housing and tired of a certain woke image of Canada.
Justin Trudeau was unable to convince all Canadians of the “benefits” of Wokism, or even multiculturalism. Pierre Poilievre understood this. “I will be the anti-woke Prime Minister of Canada,” he has insisted in the past. A sympathizer with the libertarian right, he promised his fellow citizens to “give them back control of their lives… to make Canada the freest country in the world.” »
A fan of shock formulas that disconcert liberals, such as “justinflation”, he does not hold back anything, surprising during a flight with the Canadian company Westjet, when he takes away the microphone from the stewardesses to campaign in front of stunned passengers. With his anti-vax declarations, his support for the convoy of truckers in Ottawa or for “Jean-Marie Tremblay, the welder from Saguenay”, the leader of the PCC stands out in such a calm Canada.
“Common sense”
Pierre Poilievre multiplies the excesses, without it harming him: announced dismissal of the governor of the Bank of Canada, withdrawal of “control of money from the bankers and politicians to give it to the people”. His program? “Common sense”, as he repeats in all his meetings. And it doesn’t matter if he contradicts himself later. Professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa, Srdjan Vucetic told Point : “Mr. Poilievre will position himself as an agent of change and build his government on the idea of freedom and limited government. »
He adds an anti-elite message, hoping to ride the populist and radical wave. “His program will not just be that of a skillful demagogue. » The conservatives intend to abolish the federal carbon tax, control public spending, encourage real estate construction to tackle the housing crisis and use firmness in the fight against crime. “In fiscal and environmental matters, it will be a clear shift to the right,” confides the director of the Institute of Canadian Studies at McGill University, Daniel Béland.
A populist chameleon
The conservative leader hates journalists and will, if elected, stop funding public broadcasting channels. He comes from a “right that has completely reinvented itself,” notes Frederic Boily, professor of political science at the University of Alberta. A copy of Trump then? Srdjan Vucetic assures the opposite. It would not be a “little Trump” as many observers claim. More of a chameleon conservative troublemaker. He is the antithesis of Trudeau.
While the latter was raised by his Prime Minister father in the palaces of the Confederation, he was a child adopted by modest public school teachers. He grew up in the cold province of Saskatchewan. Broken to odd jobs at a very young age like most Canadian teenagers, he symbolizes Canada struggling to get by. He has never forgotten his roots and is the only politician who really has the “pulse” of the population, says Daniel Béland.
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
Perfectly bilingual, this career politician became, at 25, the youngest member of the House of Commons, defeating the then Minister of Defense, before being promoted to Minister of Democratic Reform by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper . The one some call the pit bull has a baby face, but he will be the boss, both for his troops and for Canada to whom he promises a radical change of times.
Poilievre the fighter plays on all sides and their opposite. Pro-abortion, he appears with an anti-abortion MP. He recognizes climate change, but is pro fossil industries. He opposed gay marriage in the past, before later defending LGBT rights, recalling that his adoptive father became gay. He knows how to use his marriage to a Venezuelan immigrant, Anaida, with whom he had his two young children, to seduce immigrants. The man is sure of his lucky star. Had he not, as a student, won a prize of $10,000 for an essay, the title of which was intended to be premonitory: “If I were Prime Minister…”.
