Finally, some good news for Canada’s Conservative party. For the first time since the federal election was announced, a poll last week showed them in the lead, and polls over the weekend show them closing in on the Liberal party. They’re not where they were, but it’s progress.
In early January, the much-loathed Trudeau was stepping down, both Liberals and the New Democrats were highly unpopular, and the Conservatives, with a no-nonsense economic platform were considered a shoo-in for the next election.
But thanks to Canada-US tensions over border security and tariffs, Liberals have been topping every poll since the beginning of the election campaign. The Conservative’s Pierre Poilievre is staying steadfastly on message, but doesn’t seem to be generating the same enthusiasm.
His improvement in the polls is likely due to two things – a measure of relief from American pressure, as Trump’s laser beam swings away from Canada towards the rest of the world – and Poilievre’s very slight shift towards social issues, which he has scarcely mentioned since the beginning of the election campaign. Poilievre is widely perceived to be strong on economics. It seems voters though need to know he’s not just a clever financial analyst, but a leader of character with a well-formed moral sense.
In British Columbia this weekend, Poilievre addressed the drug crisis, pointing out that B.C. is ‘probably the worst place for fentanyl overdoses in the world.’ He spoke out against Liberal safe drug consumption policies, which he has previously called ‘insane’ and promised that a Conservative government would redirect funds to treatment and recovery programmes. On April 2, he said his government would promote scientific research at universities at the expense of radical political ideologies. And on March 31, he mentioned families who would like to have children – although while talking about housing affordability. It was notable though that he actually mentioned the people no one is allowed to talk about in Canada: normal families who want children.
Outrage ensued, of course. It’s okay, in Canadian politics, to talk about abnormal situations all day long, and what people in those situations might want. But talking about normal families and their normal desire for children? That’s a no-no for progressives. And they want to keep it that way.
It’s the old lefty trick: make Conservatives apologise for being conservative. And it’s worked very well in the past. Received wisdom in Canadian politics, upheld unanimously by left-wing gatekeepers, is that socially conservative stances don’t make it past the ballot box.
But received wisdom, in this case, is bunk. Why does Canada have abysmal voter turnout? Not because voters love social progressivism. No, they stay home because they think no politician is worth crossing the street for. They think it doesn’t matter who is in charge – new boss, same depressing dreck. If Poilievre is different, he needs to find a way to let them know.
Conservatively inclined voters saw former opposition leader Andrew Scheer – well known to hold pro-life views – promise not to let his conscience interfere with his politics, and they thought, ‘That’s a bit shifty.’ They saw his successor Erin O’Toole back every progressive policy in the book, and they thought, ‘He’s desperate to get elected.’
There’s a saying in Canadian politics that Conservatives always spend their campaigns trying to prove they can run a Liberal government better than the Liberals can. But here’s a novel idea: why run a Liberal government at all?
Poilievre has done a good job on economic issues, but it’s time for him to step up his game and present a socially compelling vision that speaks to the silent, normal majority.
If all you did is listen to Canada’s state-subsidised media, you’d be forgiven for thinking that every Canadian wants the place to be a woke hellhole. But they don’t. The truckers’ convoy was mainly a conservative working-class movement. The March for Life is an annual pro-life event. The Million March 4 Children is a conservative parents’ movement against inappropriate material in schools. June school walkouts are growing from one year to the next. These events receive only negative press, if any. Yet they continue in the face of opposition, and they grow. That speaks to a strong desire for a social vision that protects normal family life.
Fringe elements, some will say. But consider that Canada has some of the most aggressive anti-hate laws in the world, and an activist judiciary to back it up. Many Canadians don’t speak out on matters of burning importance to them, for fear of consequences: losing their jobs, being ostracised by friends and family, maybe even getting sued by a well-heeled activist group. The few that do speak out are the tip of the iceberg.
Poilievre has an opportunity here to present himself to Canadians, not just as a political strategist, but as a leader of character, sincerity, and goodwill. Though he was raised Catholic, he has distanced himself from socially conservative stances on pro-life issues and traditional marriage. This was a mistake, and not just for moral reasons. A Canadian Conservative who makes a public point of being pro-choice, is showing fear – and everyone knows it.
But though Poilievre may not have everything figured out yet, it’s not too late for him to begin engaging seriously with socially conservative principles. Here’s a straightforward place to start, even in the middle of an election campaign: what’s best for Canadian children? They are, quite literally, Canadian society’s only hope of survival. And all the research agrees: what’s best for children is to grow up with their own mother and father in a traditional family setting.
Defence of the traditional family is a battlefield, all right. But if Poilievre steps into the fray, he’ll find unexpected supporters flowing in from all sides. Liberals aren’t going to vote for him. He should make friends with the people who might.
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