By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer

Pierre Poilievre is a version of Trump for individuals who are not quite comfortable with revealing their bigoted beliefs. He’s built his campaign on rigorous attacks on current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Conservative leader presents himself as being “for the people,” but his support for problematic movements leads me to question how authentic his campaign to liberate Canadians truly is. While Trudeau has had his share of criticism, Poilievre has made his entire campaign about attacking the Liberals without any clear plans for addressing issues in Canada.

Poilievre announced he will run for prime minister in 2022 — after endorsing the “Freedom Convoy,” an anti-vaccination and far-right political movement (and the same space where many far-right people flew nazi flags and indulged in racist sentiment). As a candidate who understands the power of media, he frequently produces ads and other content of himself engaging with voters. He presents himself as an everyday Canadian, often showing up to social events in a T-shirt, positioning himself as a humble, hardworking Canadian. 

However, Poilievre is anything but that. He is a populist leader — someone who appeals to working class individuals by placing the blame for their disadvantages on a real or imagined elitist group — in this case, the Liberal Party. While inequality does exist for the working class, populists often scapegoat marginalized groups and offer solutions that, ironically, further reinforce inequality. This type of leader’s “charismatic” personality can have a wide appeal among the majority of low-information voters (people who are not as informed about political discourse). Populist leaders can belong to any political ideology, but are often right-wing. 

Poilievre has managed to grab the attention of many by tapping into a real anxiety: the housing crisis. But while this anxiety is valid, his solution boils down to not voting for Trudeau. In his video Housing Hell, he blames the current prime minister for causing the housing crisis, while failing to address any nuances about the issue. The video intends to instill anger by infuriating the viewer with stats about how housing has gotten worse, but only provides a vague explanation of why the issue exists in the first place. Housing insecurity disproportionately impacts low income and marginalized folks. Voting for a leader who doesn’t value social programs will not solve these issues. 

While the Conservative candidate may be an expert at stirring the pot, he lacks sincerity. He’s gone on record saying that he stands with Israel, while legitimizing the genocide against Palestinians — he tweeted “Israel has a right to defend itself.” In 2008, he made statements about how compensation for residential school survivors doesn’t provide any “value.” While he later apologized for those comments, he also gave a speech at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, a research group that has downplayed the effects residential schools had on Indigenous children. Comments like these should make you wonder whether Poilievre truly understands the “average” working class folks he tries to appeal to. 

Currently, the Conservative Party have nearly a 20% lead over the party under them. While Poilievre has won a lot of support since the start of his campaign, and while his approach may seem enticing to some, it is important to note that his actions do not reflect the reality he preaches. He’s claimed that he will make Canada “the freest nation on earth,” but when diving deeper into his comments about marginalized groups, it is important to question who exactly he will make the country “free” for.