Pierre Poilièvre lost his Ottawa seat, which he had previously won eight times in a row, in the most polarized Canadian election in decades.
Almost all votes went to the two major parties, as traditional support for the NDP, the Green Party and even the Bloc Québecois was vacuumed up by Conservatives and Liberals.
Many months of polling had predicted a Conservative win. But Canadians contemplated the disasters unfolding in our southern neighbour. Recklessly, Poilièvre had firmly tied his and his party’s political fortunes to Donald Trump. This singular focus poisoned his campaign.
In late 2023 I casually signed “No” to an on-line “survey” asking if I wanted Mr. Poilièvre to be Canada’s next prime minister – because the Conservatives favour expanding fossil fuel use. Almost immediately I received a computer-generated “personal” email from “Pierre” saying: “Welcome…” Eventually I was even designated a “loyal supporter." In the end, I received nearly 500 Trump-style emails: large type and simple language, relentless emphasis on money, derogatory alliterative slogans like “Axe the Tax," “Trust Fund Trudeau" and “Sellout Singh” – and little information about policies, except a promise to “put more money in your pocket” and block immigration.
The slogans, the attack style, the blaming of others mirrored Donald Trump’s messaging.
Poilièvre’s open support for the disruptive 2022 Freedom Convoy in Ottawa led to Trumpian flirtation with white supremacist groups.This aggressive and divisive conduct typecast Poilièvre. Instead of offering thoughtful solutions, he and the Conservative Party, like Trump, relentlessly criticized “socialist” opponents, loudly condemning “the woke establishment," and “DEI” (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) – two American initiatives to create a more generous, just and compassionate society, but both directly challenging Trump’s narrow-minded and racist views. Both politicians also flatly ignored the climate crisis.
Poilièvre’s speeches in the House of Commons mimicked Trump’s excoriating, dismissive style. Meanwhile, the increasingly chaotic and profoundly disruptive actions of Donald Trump since re-elected as President – now visible for all to see – have changed the political landscape. Unfettered by political guardrails, Trump’s destructive attacks on government institutions, disregard for legality, human rights, the environment and ultimately the U.S. Constitution – all these have stirred up alarm and rejection in his country and around the world.These sentiments were aroused in Canada, of course, intensified by Trump’s declaration that we should become the 51st state, and his equally spurious blaming of immigrants (and his political opponents) for all of America’s woes. So at the last minute, Poilièvre tried to distance himself from Trump.
As Americans – and humanity at large – increasingly rejected Trump’s random, narcissistic and discordant excesses, Canadians rejected their oblique manifestation in Pierre Poilièvre. His attempts to create a new image failed. He lost in his Ottawa riding to a candidate who proudly lives in an energy-efficient house, and by a targeted campaign for electoral reform (which he rejects). But mostly he lost on his own “Trump-Lite” record.
Humanity desperately wants change, but divisive, autocratic governance and attack politics are not the solutions we need. And some politicians are revealing why.
Warren Bell is a long-time family physician in Salmon Arm with a consuming interest and involvement in community and global affairs.
