Wrapped behind a massive Alberta flag, Conservative candidate Pierre Poalievre is campaigning in Edmonton on Thursday night for a rally.
More than 1,000 people attended the event at River Cree Resort and Casino, where the Carlton MP said he would be the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Poilievre said the pandemic had “attacked” Canadians over medical and personal freedoms, but the rising cost of living now threatened “economic freedoms.”
“When the people who build our houses cannot afford to live in them, our economic system is fundamentally unfair and needs to change,” Poalievr said. “Conservatives will fight tooth and nail to stop the truck tax, abolish the carbon tax and leave money in their pockets.”
Considered by many to be a leader in the leadership race, Poalievr said he would not only win the party’s top post, but also become the next prime minister to recoup “healthy” spending.
“We will restore the traditional mandate of the Bank of Canada to keep inflation low and protect the purchasing power of your money,” Poalievre said, adding that he would stop federal deficits and introduce “common sense spending rules.”
“We will give the Alberts justice in the equalization system,” he said. “In the national interest, we will unleash the production of the most responsible and environmentally ethical energy anywhere on Earth, right here in Western Canada.
REACHING THE VOTERS
Larissa Walker, public relations strategist at GT and Company, told CTV News Edmonton that Poilievre’s popular support may stem from his ability to reach voters who traditionally do not feel represented by the Conservative Party.
“He’s talking about things that people are really interested in, like the price of housing, the price of food, the price of gas,” Walker said. “These are things that are almost apolitical.
“No one else has talked about them, but he has been talking about them for years,” she added. “So I think things are starting to snap.”
Pierre Poilievre stood in front of a crowd in Edmonton to deliver a speech at the campaign on Thursday, April 14, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton / Sean McClune).
That message helps his messages resonate with an audience that usually ignores leadership campaigns, Walker said.
“He talks to the person Ottawa doesn’t listen to, or he talks about things that interest him,” she said.
“My non-political friends know who he is and are interested in the things he has to say.”
Poilievre was in Calgary – where he was born and raised – on Wednesday, and campaign officials estimated he drew a crowd of 5,000 to 7,000.
A long list of contenders have announced their intention to run, including MPs Leslin Lewis and Scott Aichison, former Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.
The first English debate is in Edmonton on May 11.
With files from Tyson Fedor of CTV News of Calgary and CTVNews.ca
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