A battle for hope: the brewing campaign clash between the Conservatives and the NDP
CTV
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's path to power may be by prosecuting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's past eight years in government, but his road to victory is painted NDP orange.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's path to power may be by prosecuting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's past eight years in government, but his road to victory is painted NDP orange.
Appealing to working-class voters in rural and northern ridings — like those held by New Democrats across British Columbia and Liberals in northern Ontario — is part of what Poilievre sees as a winning formula.
That offensive was on full display recently as he traversed NDP turf on Vancouver Island, rallying supporters in Nanaimo and snapping photos with mill workers in Port Alberni. He also stopped at a steel plant and port in B.C.'s Lower Mainland as part of his tour to rub shoulders with workers, images of which lit up his social media.
"We're seeing Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative party, on the floor of shops and factories," said Allie Blades, a strategist who worked on his 2022 leadership campaign in B.C.
Blades, who works for Mash Strategy, which produces the party's slick digital videos, cited a recent speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade — an invitation it took Poilievre 18 months to accept.
It was his first appearance before a corporate crowd since becoming leader in 2022, not out of spite — "it's nothing to do with my view on business; I love business," he said — but because "utterly useless" corporate lobbyists in Ottawa are too focused on currying favour with elected officials.
Instead, the Conservative plan is a "bottom-up, free enterprise agenda," he said, vowing to end the days of self-interested CEOs and politicians working together solely to advance their own self-interests.
