Poilievre isn’t just talking about the carbon tax itself—although he lays out all the reasons this obstructive levy should not be hiked by another 23 percent on April 1—but also explaining why it should be banished from the public policy room.
But he’s moving beyond politics. Poilievre is not only promising to remove a hated tax from your life, he also is talking about making your life more joyful, uplifting, prosperous, and meaningful.
I really believe Poilievre is channelling former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who not only projected a positive attitude but preached an upbeat conservative message of hope, prosperity, and the American pursuit of happiness. He rarely resorted to ad hominem attacks on his political opponents as they chronically did to him; he didn’t savage Democratic leaders for being unfit for office or political failures.
He talked about America being “a city on hill,” about personal freedom, about prosperity and about enduring values.
It’s one of the best political ads ever made and it’s entirely positive. It doesn’t even mention the Democrats or its presidential candidate that year, Walter Mondale. The narration merely talks about how Americans are feeling good about themselves and their country.
I had chills watching it again after many years.
Poilievre remembers it too.
“As much as the prime minister tries to divide one from the other and tries to turn us against each other and forget our past, it’s easy to forget all that we had, and how ... good it was and how much better it can be,” he said.
“So let me paint the picture for you of children, of children living safely, playing safely in their streets as they walk off to school, their parents no longer worried about the dangers of crime in their neighbourhood. Of seniors driving home from the grocery store with with groceries in their trunk and change in their pocket. Of soldiers, of soldiers strapping on the finest of equipment and having the best technology. Of a small business owned by a couple closing down the business after one more successful day of cash in the till, of happy employees and of a safe storefront they don’t have to worry will be broken into.”
As I listened to Poilievre say these words, I immediately thought about the Reagan ad. I thought, “He’s channelling Ronald Reagan! He’s moved beyond the usual harangue about Trudeau into a place of political genius. He’s not just tearing down the current disaster of a federal government that Canadians must endure, he’s building an alternative universe right here before us.”
I felt inspired. And I have to tell you that I haven’t been inspired by any Canadian politician for a long time.
You see, it’s not enough to just castigate Justin Trudeau because of his personal and public failures, because he donned blackface while calling his detractors racists, because he constantly reads from the same script about climate change and Ukraine.
A leader should be presenting not just something we don’t believe in but something we can embrace and work for.
I don’t know if Poilievre or his communications people are consciously trying to emulate the Reagan style or if he is even aware of the effect he is having. He seems to be speaking from the heart, and when I chatted with him after the speech he was physically exhausted—not just from this one day’s activities but from his peripatetic existence of hosting these rallies across Canada.
But there was an electricity in the room that can only be found when people are convinced there are better days ahead.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am an independent journalist who is in no politician’s pocket. If Poilievre departs from the principled conservatism that he has preached so coherently and consistently since first seeking the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, I will be the first to criticize him.
But when a political speech prompts me to yearn for a Canada that I desperately want back, then I have to say that Poilievre is doing something wonderfully right. He is encouraging us to believe in our country and our future again.
Is it morning again in Canada? Not yet but we can see the sun begin to rise on the horizon.
