Poilievre win affirms leader's political relevance, say pundits

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OTTAWA — This week’s byelection win for Canada’s Conservative leader puts to rest any doubts about his political relevance, pundits say.

Alex Brown, a director with the National Citizens Coalition, told the Toronto Sun that Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre’s win in Battle River-Crowfoot on Monday — a victory that returns him to the House of Commons — proves he’s still got something to add to Canada’s political discourse.

“The thing that comes to my mind is to remind people that Stephen Harper, Jean Chretien, Diefenbaker, Churchill, Thatcher, Reagan, Lincoln — I’m not saying he’s as lofty as some of these characters — but they all lost multiple elections before winning the big one,” he said.

“What they’re putting together there, particularly with support from young voters and a more working class Canadian worker approach. I believe it has the chance to be a sustainable force.”

Stephen Taylor, a partner at Shift Media, said the Conservatives need somebody like Poilievre at the helm right now.

“He’s a dynamic leader for the Conservatives,” he said.

“He energizes the base, he energizes the party — people in the party are actually excited by his leadership, his tone and his tactics in the House.”

Poilievre was ousted from his suburban Ottawa seat of Carleton in the April 28 federal election, forcing him to run his party from outside of the House of Commons.

Monday night saw Poilievre win the riding by winning 80% of the vote, topping the second-place finisher — independent Bonnie Critchley — by over 35,500 votes.

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Brown said with Poilievre back in the House of Commons, the Conservatives are better able to take on the Mark Carney Liberals and their conspicuous stutter-start on rolling out his lofty list of commitments made during the spring election.

“We’re seeing little material progress on some major core campaign promises, whether it’s fleeing capital, rising unemployment, unaffordable homes, endless and higher tariffs, the growing gap in GDP-per-capita between the U.S and Canada, slow starts on immigration, these anxieties aren’t going anywhere. ” Brown said.

Taylor said Canada’s failing relationship with the United States — coupled with Carney’s inability to negotiate a trade deal with the White House — needs to be front-and-centre when the fall session begins Sept. 15.

“Mark Carney was elected on a promise to deal with Donald Trump and get concessions from Donald Trump, and we’ve seen no such thing,” he said.

“Carney’s record on trade and the bilateral relationship has been quite underwhelming — Mark Carney started with his elbows up, but now he’s tucked tail.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume