Pierre Poilievre dismisses calls for pivot as Liberals lead in polls

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Ottawa – Pierre Poilievre said he disagreed with the call from some supporters to change his electoral strategy amid the emergence of freedom in the polls, believing that he should not stop talking about the “lost decade of liberalism.”

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On Monday morning, he made any suggestions that he should pass on his campaign message to a stronger response to U.S. President Donald Trump to Canada’s trade war, although some voices suggest he lacked a “voting problem.”

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The conservative leader said he would not stop criticizing the government for its “lost decade of freedom” and would not address crime, rising housing costs, the fentanyl crisis and affordability issues.

“Some people say … we should ignore all of these things. I disagree. My goal in politics is to restore Canada’s commitment so that anyone anywhere can achieve anything,” Poilievre told reporters during the NB St. John’s campaign.

He added: “Threat, unreasonable threat from President Trump, further strengthened the argument of the ‘Canadian first’ agenda that I fought for my life.”

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The Conservative campaign has been tangled with public and private appeals from conservative agents and strategists for several days to make their campaign messaging interact to focus more on combating economic threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Since Friday, multiple media reports have detailed the quiet campaign, with conservative strategists believing Poilievre needs to refocus on his message or risking the attitude that leads to the Conservative Party losing liberals for the fourth consecutive time.

Kory Teneycke, the top strategist in Ontario, recently helped the party achieve a record-breaking third most-major victory.

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“These tsunami waves are knocking down trees, buildings and everything on their roads,” he said at an event held by the Imperial Club last week. “You have to join the F-voting question or you will lose.”

He also said that in the eyes of voters, Poilievre looks and sounds very much like Trump, his “Canada No. 1” slogan.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former communications director said everyone in the party needs victory and a consistent work.

“There is always tension in the political family,” Dimitri Soudas said on Radio-Canada. “If conservatives or liberals want to win the election, it needs a team that rows in the same direction. It makes a difference.”

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A new poll conducted by Nanos Research this weekend shows Mark Carney’s Liberal Party leads nearly eight points among conservatives. With the Conservatives taking a double-digit lead in Justin Trudeau’s liberal polls a few months ago.

But on Monday, Poilievre’s answer showed he was not interested in Teneycke’s insights because he believed he had been fighting liberals and Trump’s agenda for a decade.

“I am the only leader in the country to offer any change. The choice is, after losing the cost of liberalism and crime, our economy is under the thumb of the United States, do we give them, can we give them a fourth term, or should we put changes in Canada first?” he said.

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On Saturday, long-time Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said she expressed doubts about Teneycke’s sincerity in helping the Federalist Party.

“(Kory) has my cell phone number and I will be with him and his friends in any conservative movement in the Greater Toronto area and welcome them to knock on the door for us,” she told the National Post.

She also said her party’s focus on affordability issues is to resonate with what she calls her voters when knocking on the door.

State Post, and other reports by Rahim Mohamed

cnardi@postmedia.com

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