Conservative Party

Conservatives MPs are targeting Liberal leadership front-runner Mark Carney, accusing the former central banker of being an elitist who is out of touch with the concerns of working Canadians.

Heading into a caucus meeting Friday, the MPs took aim at Mr. Carney, seeking to link him to unpopular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“He lives in a completely different world. He doesn’t buy groceries in tough neighbourhoods or take public transit,” Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer told reporters.

New CPC ad on Carbon Tax Carney pic.twitter.com/al6Pz81YYv

— HoCStaffer (@HoCStaffer) January 16, 2025

Conservatives take aim at Carney in new ad as Liberals appear to narrow polling gap

OTTAWA — “Canada First” is Pierre Poilievre’s new pitch to Canadians. But it also represents the firsts the Conservative leader himself has been navigating in the past few weeks.

It’s the first time as leader that he has faced off against the Liberals without Prime Minister Justin Trudeau planning to run in the next election.

OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday that he would massively cut foreign aid to pay for a new military base in the Arctic, two new heavy icebreakers and double the number of Canadian Rangers who patrol the north where China and Russia are seen as a growing strategic threat.

The promises were part of a new plan to bolster Canada’s military presence in the Arctic, which Poilievre pledged to pay for through deep — but unspecified — cuts to the current Liberal government’s foreign assistance budget.

“We’ve got enough problems at home. We’ve got our own backyard to protect. We can’t be sending billions of dollars to other places, often … much of it is wasted, and stolen and swallowed up by bureaucracies that act against our interests,” Poilievre told reporters in Iqaluit.

Pierre Poilievre has become a lightning rod for Canadians’ frustration, and for those seeking cathartic release from simply being a Canadian — whatever that means, what with our ongoing national identity crisis — in 2025.

Outside of the Vancouver Wall Centre on the night of Feb. 4, a small crowd of pro-Palestine protesters, including one with a “Queers for Palestine” flag draped on their back, huddled and shouted in the snowy, -6C air. Poilievre was there to speak to a crowd of Conservative party donors inside. Clusters of Vancouver police officers in high-visibility vests kept the disruption outdoors.

The Conservative Party’s upcoming rally in Ottawa is expected to serve as a major rebranding effort, shifting the focus from “Axe the Tax” to “Canada First,” and is anticipated to act as an unofficial launch of the next election campaign, say some senior Conservatives.

“This is the launch of a different branding that we’re going towards,” a top Conservative told The Hill Times. “It’s a different campaign. It is a major shift. We’ve been testing new messaging because the problem with the carbon tax election is that it may not be relevant in a couple of weeks.”

An anonymous anti-Pierre Poilievre campaign has been circulating on social media for the last three months, painting the Conservative leader as an anti-abortionist and pro-firearms enthusiast.

The anonymous group, “Protecting Canada,” on its website describes itself as “a group of concerned and engaged Canadians” with a shared goal of “helping Canadians make informed decisions.”

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are certain they have the money to beat the Liberals in the next campaign: In 2024, they raised $41.7-million, more than double their rivals.

But what’s less certain for Mr. Poilievre’s party is the ballot-box question for that campaign.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre said he is not considering withdrawing Canada from the United Nations’ pro-abortion Paris Climate Agreement if he becomes prime minister.

When asked Wednesday if he would take Canada out of the pro-abortion Paris Climate Agreement, an action U.S. President Donald Trump took earlier this week just moments after being inaugurated, Poilievre, while speaking in French, replied, “We are not proposing that.”