The Man Who Could Be Canada’s Future Prime Minister

20-year-old Pierre Poilievre already had a road map for Canada.

The leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, now 45, laid out a low-tax, small-government vision for the country in an essay contest about what he would do as prime minister.

“A dollar left in the hands of consumers and investors is more productive than a dollar spent by politicians,” he said.

Poilievre is one step closer to making his vision a reality, even giving a nod to the essay in a recent interview with conservative psychologist and critic Jordan Peterson.

For months, Poilièvre’s Conservatives have held a large lead over the struggling Liberals in national polls, which suggest they would win a majority government if an election were held today.

Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation and with elections expected soon, Poilièvre is promising a return to “common sense politics.”

For Canadians frustrated by a sluggish economy and housing and affordability crises, he is offering an alternative to what he calls Trudeau’s “authoritarian socialism.”

If he wins, he will join the ranks of right-wing populist leaders who toppled incumbent governments in the West.

It has sparked comparisons to Donald Trump and he has fans such as Elon Musk and others in the US president-elect’s orbit. Poilievre’s story is very similar to Canada’s.

Poilievre was born in Alberta, western Canada, to a 16-year-old mother who adopted him. He was left in the care of two schoolteachers who raised him in a Calgary suburb.

“I have always believed that the greatest social safety net we can have is voluntary generosity among families and communities,” he said, recalling his childhood in a 2022 interview with Maclean’s Magazine.

“That is my starting point.”

Poilievre was interested in politics as a teenager and canvassed local conservatives.

While studying international relations at the University of Calgary, Poilièvre met Stockwell Day, who served as a cabinet minister under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

At the time, Day was seeking leadership of the Canadian Alliance, a right-wing political party with roots in Alberta that became part of the modern Conservative Party in a 2003 merger, and tapped Poilievre to help with campus outreach.

“He impressed me from the beginning,” Day told the BBC. “He seemed like a cold person, but he was full of energy and could get people’s attention.”

Day’s leadership bid was successful and he departed for Ottawa with Poilievre as his assistant. Soon after, Poilievre came into his office on a cold winter night and asked his opinion about a possible run for public office.

Poilievre won his seat in Ottawa in 2004 at the age of 25, making him one of the youngest elected Conservative MPs at the time. He has held that position ever since.

In Ottawa, Poilievre was nicknamed Skippy by colleagues and enemies alike for his youthful enthusiasm and sharp tongue.

Randy Vesco, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said he had a reputation for being “very combative and partisan.”

Behind closed doors at the Conservative Party convention, Poilièvre showed off his diplomatic side, Day said.

“Pierre would always say, ‘Yeah, you know what? I never thought about that,’ or he would listen and say, ‘Have you ever thought about this?’” Day said.

Nonetheless, confrontational politics became a cornerstone of Poilievre’s public persona. When he becomes Conservative leader in 2022, he has targeted Trudeau with stinging comments as a way to connect with disaffected voters.

It got him into trouble sometimes. Last April he was expelled from the House of Commons for calling the Prime Minister a ‘freak’.

Poilievre told the Montreal Gazette last June that he was a fan of “direct conversation.”

“I think when decency conflicts with truth, I choose truth,” he said. “I think we’ve been polite to the political class for too long.”

His fighting style has also been divisive and he has been criticized for oversimplifying complex issues for political gain.

Canadians were open to the opposition leader’s message that Trudeau’s brand of progressive politics had changed, but more than half of them had an unfavorable opinion of him. According to a recent opinion poll.

Poilievre also had to change his outlook ahead of the inevitable showdown between him and the next Liberal leader following Trudeau’s announcement of his resignation.

The Conservative leader has been described as a “soft” populist for his direct appeal to ordinary Canadians and his criticism of established elites, including corporate Canada.

He came out in support of those protesting vaccine mandates during the 2021 ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests that brought Ottawa to a standstill for weeks.

He promised to carry out “the largest crime crackdown in Canadian history” and promised to put repeat offenders behind bars.

Poilievre had little involvement in social issues. Professor Besco said this was typical of senior Conservatives viewing these topics as “lost issues”.

Poilièvre voted against legalizing same-sex marriage in the early 2000s, but recently said he would “absolutely” maintain legalization if elected.

The Conservatives also do not support legislation regulating abortion, but allow lawmakers to vote freely on the issue.

“I will lead a small government focused only on its own business,” Poilievre said in June.

middle Public debates held in Canada in recent months On immigration, the party said it would link levels of new arrivals to the number of new homes built and focus on bringing in a skilled workforce.

Poilievre’s wife, Anaida, arrived in Canada as a child refugee from Caracas, Venezuela.

The Conservative leader has pushed for the integration of new immigrants, saying Canada does not need to become a “hyphenated society.”

One of his key promises – Trudeau’s plan to end the national carbon pricing program, which he says is a financial burden on families – has raised questions about how his government will address pressing issues like climate change.

Canada also faces the threat of higher tariffs when President Trump takes office later this month, and Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is expected to pose a major challenge.

Poilievre fired back: Trump’s Remarks Suggesting Canada Become 51st The U.S. state government pledged to “put Canada first.”

He did not intervene much in foreign policy, with his message instead focused on restoring the “Canadian Dream.”

Above all, Poilièvre said he wants to do away with the “grandiosity” and “utopian awakening” that he believes defined the Trudeau era in favor of “the grandiose and great things of the common man.”

He told Peterson, “I’ve been saying the same thing the whole time.”