BELL: Don't write Poilievre off — he's not listening to Nervous Nellies
'We will continue, despite calls to the contrary, even if I'm the only leader in the country that offers any change,' says Conservative leader
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When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Trailing by the numbers, Pierre Poilievre is not changing his tune.
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This column has gone straight to the man. Some have written him off. You would think it would be too early in the game to write an obituary.
The Conservative leader is not opting to change his pitch to Canadians because some Conservatives are panicking and heading for the lifeboats in a ballot battle not over until the last week of this month.
Some of these folks are saying Poilievre and his party are headed for disaster.
The leader stands his ground.
He will not try to stoke the fear of Canadians as Liberal Leader Mark Carney does, day in and day out.
You can’t compete with Carney when it comes to playing the fear card.
Carney has his reasons to have Canadians thinking it might be time to head under their beds, curl up in the fetal position and hug their well-worn Liberal plush toy.
Fear sells.
You keep people afraid, you remind them constantly of their reasons to be afraid.
You have Canadians believing they could become Americans sooner rather than later and only Carney can save them and they forget about the long Liberal record which is very real and mostly awfully ugly.
Poilievre is in New Brunswick and says for the 10 years of the Liberals he has been right.
He has been standing up for a stronger Canadian economy, more able to answer what he calls “American economic aggression.”
The Conservative leader stood up for pipelines. Carney opposed them.
The Conservative leader pushed for quick approval of resource projects while Carney backed the Liberal No More Pipeline law and the cap on oil and gas emissions.
Poilievre backed tax cuts when the Liberals backed tax hikes.
“The threats, the unjustified threats by President Trump further strengthen the argument in favour of the Canada First agenda I’ve been fighting for my whole life,” says the Conservative leader.
Unfortunately, many Canadians appear not to be interested in what Poilievre sees as rational arguments, strengthened or otherwise.
The movie in the heads of many Canadians is their own imagined apocalypse where we trade in our passports and become Americans, the 51st state.
Or even worse, face an armed invasion where only Carney, the prime minister with the supposed steady hand, will show the U.S. Marine Corps who is boss.
Yes, newspapers do run the fantasies of the far-left to gain cheap clicks and Liberal votes.
Poilievre says while he rolls out a plan to get Canada’s economy up and running on all cylinders he is not going to forget those who are struggling.
You would think that would be a Liberal line.
Liberals always insist they’re for the people.
But the affluent central Canadian baby boomers who look to be voting Liberal in a big way don’t give a damn about anyone struggling.
They’ve got their massively over-valued digs in Toronto and no doubt a cozy cottage a couple of hours from home where they can sit by the fire listening to their old Bob Dylan vinyl, pretending they are progressives.
So it is Poilievre who speaks for those far from that comfy life.
The Conservative leader says he will not forget the single mom at the food bank.
It is Poilievre who says he will not forget the seniors who must choose between eating and heating.
Then there are the families terrorized by drugs and crime.
Then there is the 30-something couple where the biological clock is running out and they cannot afford to buy a home and have kids.
BUT WHAT ABOUT TRUMP?
The Conservatives who have chosen to knife Poilievre publicly, on or off the record, should present their playbook.
What exactly do they want Poilievre to say? Do they want him to be even more hawkish on Trump than Carney?
What part should Conservative ideas for change play, if any part at all?
When he goes to the microphone what is the new script?
Every day Poilievre points to the Liberal record in office.
He talks about the lost investment, the nation-building projects killed, the economy under America’s thumbs because of the weak Liberals.
He says he would retaliate against Trump’s tariffs and says what Trump is doing is wrong.
He has pointed out how Trump has been talking up Carney as a pal.
What’s that about?
David Coletto, a deep-thinking nose counter, talks about election campaigns picking the issues where they have the advantage.
Poilievre looks to be going that route.
He says he and his party will stay the course.
“We will continue, despite calls to the contrary, even if I’m the only leader in the country that offers any change.”
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