Poilievre pledges to restore ‘promise of Canada’ in campaign-style speech

Pierre Poilievre began a speech on Saturday with a quote from the country’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, but it is a quote by a former Liberal prime minister that has now become the rallying cry for the Conservative Leader as he looks to pivot his campaign message.

After repeatedly saying Canada was “broken,” Poilievre took a more upbeat tone on Saturday at a rally in a downtown Ottawa convention centre, saying the economic aggression from the United States has brought Canadians together.

“The unjustified tariff threats of President Donald Trump and threats to turn us into the 51st state have united our people to defend the country we love,” he said.

It is Sir Wilfred Laurier who is credited with saying “Let your motto be: Canada first, Canada last, Canada always,” more than a century ago.

Standing in front of a massive Maple Leaf for what the Conservatives billed as a “Canada First” rally, Poilievre addressed Americans directly, laying out the consequences of “an unprovoked attack” on Canada’s economy via tariffs. 

“If they put tariffs on our steel and aluminum, I will tariff their steel and aluminum. If he hits us with generalized tariffs, we’ll respond dollar for dollar, carefully targeting American goods we don’t need, can produce ourselves or buy from others to maximize impact on the Americans and minimize it on ourselves,” he said.

Poilievre added that 100 per cent of the proceeds of any counter-tariffs will go to reimburse businesses and workers directly impacted by tariffs while the rest will go towards tax cuts for Canadians.

“Not one penny will go to other government spending. This cannot be a tax grab.”

Poilievre also noted the long friendship the two countries have shared.

“Never confuse our kindness with weakness. We are mild-mannered and made of steel.”

The event was seen as a chance for Poilievre to refresh his message as polls show the substantial lead his party once enjoyed over the Liberals has been sharply reduced.

With the next federal election campaign likely to begin in a matter of weeks, Poilievre’s speech felt like an unofficial launch to the Conservative campaign against the man he believes will be his next opponent: Liberal leadership hopeful and former central banker Mark Carney.

Poilievre said Trump’s tariff threat had caused him to reflect on whether the Conservative slogan “axe the tax” — a pledge to eliminate the consumer carbon price brought in by the Liberals — was still relevant.

“I have to concede, it’s an even bigger issue,” he said.

“Combining Trump’s tariffs with Carney’s carbon tax will decimate our industries and destroy the jobs of our workers.”

He attacked the record of the “Carney-Trudeau Liberals,” blaming the government’s policies for a raft of problems including the rising cost of living and Canada’s lack of export options for oil and gas.

Poilievre laid out broad strokes of a plan to “restore the promise of Canada.”

That begins, he said, with “the biggest and most patriotic tax cut in Canada’s history” and a plan to slash government spending on bureaucracy, consultants and corporate welfare.

It includes a west-to-east pipeline and a resource plan that he said would “incentivize Indigenous leaders” to support projects by allowing companies to pay some of their federal taxes directly to First Nations, something he said “will allow First Nations to spend that on clean drinking water.”

He pledged to break down interprovincial trade barriers to make Canada its own biggest trading partner.

Carney issued a news release Saturday that said Poilievre may have a new slogan, but his ideas are old. He accused the Conservative leader of trying to divide people, saying Canada needs a new leader to stand up for Canada amid Trump’s threats.

“It’s clear that Pierre Poilievre is not that person. No one who runs down Canada will stand up for it. No one who imitates Trump can negotiate with him for Canada. No one who tells you Canada is broken will put Canada first,” Carney’s statement said.

Poilievre also reiterated policies he’s laid out in announcements over the last several weeks: to secure the border with military helicopters and surveillance, to impose mandatory life sentences on people convicted of trafficking more than 40 mg of fentanyl, and to boost defence spending and build a new Arctic military base by cutting foreign aid.

The crowd was on its feet, cheering and chanting, as Poilievre wrapped his speech with a promise to “end cancel culture and stop the war on our history.”

“It will be the official policy of my government to reinstate Sir John A, his statues and his name, in our parks, public structures and our places of national importance,” he said.

He added the Conservatives will return to a version of the Canadian passport that featured Terry Fox and the Fathers of Confederation, and make new citizens pledge their gratitude to the people who built the country.

“Our country is worth fighting for,” he said.

Liberal cabinet minister Marc Miller was not buying Poilievre’s calls to unity.

“You’re seeing a Pierre Poilievre that’s trying to secure his own future, which he’s always ever done in the past, and in the last two years he’s said that Canada is constantly broken and it’s not – it’s the best country in the world.”

Files from Glen McGregor were used in this report