Will Poilievre abandon his base, or ignore most Canadians?

Let's look at Poilievre's legacy, and the corner he's painted himself into.

“Nearly two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius expressed a timeless truth,” Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada said to the Economic Club of Canada. The title of the speech was “A Vision for Canada-Us Relations.”

The law of politics is simple. Either you’re ahead, or you’re behind. A ball that gets lobbed into the air hits the peak of its arc, and then starts falling. Poilievre hit his peak, and sadly for him, it was during the era of Trudeau.

Right now, Poilievre is playing catch up, and it’s hard to watch. Take one glance at that cover photo, and the opening words of the speech. Who does he want to sound like? Who does he want to look like?

Poilievre is a man out of time. He’s the final word on an era that died when Trump returned. In 2015, Trudeau was ushered into power at a time where neo-liberals were posing as socialists. The country wanted someone who built social systems and a more just society after nearly a decade of backsliding and anger (see my article on Stephen Harper.) Trudeau didn’t really do it, but nonetheless, 2015 was a time of optimism. The NDP looked poised to win an election. The Liberals came in on their left, and stole the show. Canada wanted the LGBTQ to be safe, wanted investments into our social system, and wanted a new day.

This isn’t a story about how bad Poilievre’s speech was yesterday. This is the story of how a man at the peak of his power is doing anything he can to get it back. This is the story of Justin Trudeau after 2022, this is the story of John Turner in 1984, this is the story of Mulroney in 1992, and Chretien in 2004, and every leader who fights to hold their power as party leader.