Date of publication: March 31, 2022 • 5 hours ago • 4 minutes reading • 95 Comments Federal Conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre speaks at an anti-carbon rally in Ottawa on Thursday, March 31, 2022. Photo by Patrick Doyle / The Canadian Press
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Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre rallied hundreds of supporters at the Ax the Carbon Tax rally in Ottawa, hours away from the critically acclaimed increase in coal costing $ 50 a tonne and adding a few extra cents. to the petrol pump.
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To the tune of Neil Young’s “Rockin ‘in the Free World”, former leader Andrew Scheer came in to introduce his fellow MP and friend – both first elected in 2004 – and to make some less so. – subtle excavations in the successor of Erin O’Toole. “What I like most about Pierre is that he is a man of integrity. He says the same things in English as he says in French. “It says the same thing in Eastern Canada as it does in Western Canada,” Scheer said, speaking to a crowd that is mostly uncovered. But most importantly, he said, leadership struggles have to do with confidence. “I’m here to tell you that Pierre is the type of person who will do the same things after the leadership race as he promised to do during the leadership race,” Seer added.
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Lack of confidence is one of the reasons why O’Toole was ousted two months ago by a majority of its members, disappointed that they had not been consulted about the change in position on coal pricing policy. O’Toole had argued that his proposal was not a tax, but had all the characteristics of a. Poilievre’s intentions could not have been clearer on Thursday afternoon. “In a few hours, the clock will end and the Trinto tax increase will take effect on our gas pumps, on your heat and, indirectly, on the food and necessities of your life. “As if we do not already have enough problems, he decides that it will increase the costs even more,” he told them.
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“That is why I am announcing today that a government under Prime Minister Poilievre will ax the carbon tax,” he repeated to the excited and cheering crowd holding posters with the exact same message on them. Poilievre added that he would replace the Liberals’ carbon pricing with other measures, including the revival of the Scheer bill banning the discharge of raw sewage into water, the reduction of carbon and nuclear emissions, as well as nuclear and Canada’s export of “green energy” to the world. ” He also blamed Jean Charest’s opponents for imposing a ceiling and trade system on Quebec as prime minister and Patrick Brown for opposing a carbon tax before changing his mind when he became leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives.
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Both Charest and Brown called on the Liberal government to repeal the carbon tax increase on April 1. Poilievre, who has been campaigning for almost two months, has continued to reiterate some of his recent promises, such as banning oil imports from “dirty dictators”, unleashing the power of cryptocurrencies, keeping inflation low and exemption from Canada Infrastructure Bank. . But the promise that received the loudest applause from the crowd was Poilievre’s promise to refinance the CBC. “The room does not look indecisive about it, right?” he laughed. Supporters and volunteers who met with the National Post on Thursday were not afraid to say that the prospect of having Poilievre as party leader and possibly as prime minister is, at least, very exciting.
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“I really admire someone who is willing to defend what he believes and has the arguments to resist because he has these beliefs and why he should not be ashamed that he does not have those beliefs,” said Michelle Lapointe, a volunteer. for Poilievre from 2021. “It just impresses me all the time.” Peter Morel campaigned for O’Toole in 2020 and was surprised when the former leader lost his vote of confidence, but Morel happily signed new members for Poilievre as he entered the convention center in Ottawa on Thursday night. “Pierre is definitely the man. His policies are fantastic. He is an excellent speaker. And as you may know, he is a very, very smart man. “ “I’m very excited because he’s defending, I think, Canadians,” said Matt Barron, a longtime Conservative voter. “Everyone I talk to feels the same way.” Weeks after the end of the truck race that paralyzed Ottawa, Poilievre aims to channel the anger and frustration of Canadians into enrolling new members who he hopes will make him the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. To supporters in the hall, he promised to do “the exact opposite” of Prime Minister Justin Trinto and look at “every Canadian in a spirit of freedom and equality, regardless of race, sexuality, gender, vaccination or any other characteristic.” . “It no longer divides and reigns. Instead, unite for freedom! “
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