The political saying that governments tend to undermine themselves holds true, but it doesn’t excuse the opposition from acting as if they are ready to govern, with their leaders assuming the role of a prospective prime minister. Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative party are falling short in both aspects.
When allegations of an explosion on the Rainbow Bridge between Canada and the United States arose last week, Poilievre rose in the Commons to allude to media claims of a “terrorist attack.” It was reckless and unworthy of a leader, but Poilievre saw an opportunity to politicize a tragedy. When confronted about this behavior, he resorted to his usual tactic of launching a juvenile and confrontational argument against the reporter. What’s even more concerning is that he justified his actions by referring to a CTV social media post that was published 16 minutes after his question in the Commons, seemingly basing his statements on an inaccurate alert from U.S.-based Fox News. Despite receiving support from his followers for his disrespectful treatment of the journalist, to the majority of Canadians, he appeared small-minded, fragile, insincere, and unnecessarily combative.
Before that, he and his party opposed a revised Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, claiming that it would impose a carbon tax on Ukraine. However, this was not the case; the agreement simply contained language to ensure that it does not hinder government efforts to combat climate change. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who strongly desires the deal, has already endorsed it. Consequently, the Conservative party, which had previously taken pride in being the first Western government to recognize an independent Ukraine, has now become the initial Canadian party to vote against a measure aimed at assisting the country in its third year of conflict against Russian invaders.
Poilievre has positioned the elimination of carbon pricing as a central element in his opposition to the Trudeau Liberals. Achieving this objective involved instances of intimidation directed at female Independent senators by former leader Andrew Scheer and the current Conservative leader in the Senate, Don Plett who later apologized. Among the targeted senators, Bernadette Clement faced phone and online threats after Scheer shared a photo along with the office phone numbers of her and Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain on social media. Scheer urged his supporters to question them about the perceived delay in voting on legislation that sought to exempt farmers from a carbon levy.
Poilievre envisions the upcoming election as focused on the carbon tax, despite the escalating climate crisis. Canadians deserve a well-defined alternative strategy to combat climate change, yet he has not presented one. His foreign policy remains unclear, and he contends it’s premature to outline budgetary balancing. Vagueness surrounds various issues, including medical intervention for transgender youth and the meaning behind his recent condemnation of what he terms “radical gender ideology,” which he accuses Trudeau of imposing on children.
Justin—stop hiking your tax until people can vote in the carbon tax election. pic.twitter.com/3s33LjItEA
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) November 26, 2023
These political missteps seem to be largely spontaneous on the part of a man aspiring to become the prime minister. Alternatively, they may offer a glimpse into a potential agenda once in office. In any case, Canadians should be vigilant observers of an individual whose decision-making and demeanor are prompting significant concerns. While Poilievre has proven to be a capable opposition leader, he is now not vying to retain that role. At some juncture, he must provide Canadians with compelling reasons to support him, rather than simply casting a vote against Trudeau’s Liberals.
