A month after losing the election, Pierre Poilievre made personal phone calls to a number of right-wing influencers who’d helped fuel his campaign. He wanted to thank them for their work — and, presumably, get them to start talking about him again.
These are the political content creators with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers on Youtube, X, TikTok and Instagram. Many are products of the Freedom Convoy; they have handles like Unacceptable Fringe, Clyde Do Something, Pleb Reporter, and Right Blend. Though unknown to millions of Canadians who get their news from more traditional sources, they were highly visible celebrities at the rallies Poilievre held across the country in April. And as Poilievre’s calls in June made clear, the Conservative leadership knows exactly who they are.
Unfortunately for Poilievre, they’ve all gone silent on the Conservative leader. After months, even years, of full-throated daily support, these most important of fans have moved on. Scour their feeds, and you’ll see plenty of Prime Minister Mark Carney-bashing, support for Alberta separatism, anger at pro-Palestine protests, Convoy nostalgia, outrage at immigration levels and housing costs and crime. You’ll see support for Conservative MPs, whose speeches in the House of Commons are approvingly shared and dissected. What you won’t see is any mention of the party’s leader.
Seemingly all at once, in mid-June, conservative influencers began posting that Poilievre had recently called them. I reached out to several influencers for comment on this story; only one agreed to speak with me, and that was off the record. This person confirmed that Poilievre called them in early June. The unannounced call caught them by surprise – it was the first time Poilievre had ever spoken to this person, who has no formal relationship with the Conservative Party and was never paid for their extensive work promoting Poilievre’s campaign.
This person said Poilievre simply called to say thank you and ask how they were doing. It was a brief, friendly chat they described to me as a mutual “checking in,” after an election that left Poilievre’s followers feeling almost as bruised as the Conservative leader himself. According to this person, Poilievre didn’t ask for their future support.
Whether he asked for it or not, Poilievre needs that support more now than ever. Locked out of the House of Commons, the Conservative leader is struggling for attention and relevance, further from the spotlight than he’s been in years. He’s got a new election campaign on his hands in Alberta — thousands of kilometres away from the action in Ottawa — to be followed by a leadership review in January. So far, there’s little sign of dissent among Conservative MPs, many of whom owe their seats to Poilievre’s support. But in the two months since Poilievre’s defeat, things have only gotten worse for the party and its leader.
Poilievre’s doldrums are the precise inversion of the prime minister’s summer of exuberance. A Nanos poll released June 10 found that national support for Poilievre is lower now than at any point since he won the party’s leadership race in 2022. Less than 25 per cent of respondents wanted Poilievre to be prime minister, whereas half were happy with Carney – a 25-point margin for the Liberals that matches the lead Poilievre squandered. If an election were held today, the poll found, Carney’s Liberals would win a commanding majority with something in the range of 190 seats (they currently hold 169).
These are honeymoon numbers, no doubt. As the last few months have made clear, and as Poilievre knows perhaps better than any living politician in Canada, political fortunes can turn on a dime, and predicting future electoral outcomes based on current polling is a recipe for embarrassment.
But movements rely on momentum, and there’s no doubt that Poilievre has lost his. He rode the same wave of anger that fuelled the influencers who supported him; now that anger has dissipated, and so has Poilievre’s fire. His own party joined forces with the Liberals he once described as a “clown show” causing “death and destruction,” to pass their first signature piece of legislation; gone are the days when the Conservative Party was the bulwark against the dangerous Liberal Party.
You can see it in his face. Watch Poilievre’s interview with Sean Speer, editor of The Hub, on June 23: at one point Speer asks Poilievre if he would describe Donald Trump as a conservative, but Poilievre declines to put any labels on the American president, pointing out that Trump has four years to go in office “and you never know, I might be prime minister before that time is up.” His tone is utterly unconvincing, almost wistful. It’s the voice of a man watching his dream recede further out of reach by the minute, delivering a line that circumstance has forced him to recite.
Another notable aspect of that interview was Poilievre’s refusal to take any responsibility for losing the election. When Speer gave him a chance to do so, Poilievre simply pointed out the familiar factors — Trudeau’s resignation and Trump’s aggression — in the sighing tone of a man recalling a tornado. Could Poilievre be blamed for such acts of God? “You know, if you look at our numbers, we didn’t actually come down that much,” he insisted. “We made great gains, a couple million more votes — two and a half million more to be precise, and 25 more seats … now we have to build on the coalition that we’ve established.”
One of that coalition’s biggest threads — the cohort that pushed Poilievre to the top of his party and, for a brittle moment, to the top of national polls — was the Freedom Convoy. And there’s no better barometer for how that cohort is feeling than the influencers it gave birth to. To go by their social media feeds, along with those of far-right outlets like Rebel News and Canada Proud, support for the federal Conservative Party does remain strong. They’re still fighting the culture war that Poilievre championed on their behalf. It’s Poilievre they’ve given up on.
Comments
It will be a fine moment when Poilievre announces he's decided to leave politics to spend more time with his family. His mean spirited slags on everything Canadians (except a few unhappy ones that is) hold dear has been hard to bear and now with the fella down south starting and stopping wars on a whim and the forest fires and the homeless and and and the genocide and all other negatives things getting rid of even one helps.
Thanks for the hope. Question: How is that class action against the convoy crowd going? Would be nice to have a catch up piece on how they are all dealing with it because they were acting something akin to movies stars when last seen in Ottawa.
The class action suit is still bubbling away under the surface as a big civil case. There are many claims made by something like 300 participants in the civil suit.
First, though, the criminal lawsuits against convoy alumni must work their way through the courts. There has been fines and jail time imposed on a few of the top convoy leaders so far.
The civil suit has the capacity to bankrupt the perpetrators who are proven in court to have caused the most damage. My guess is many of those big rigs and several homes will be sold to pay damages and fines. Companies that willingly allowed their truck logos to be displayed on TV for three weeks will probably face consequences too.
I just Googled it and the Ottawa Citizen published a story two days ago reiterating the failure of convoy lawyers to change the trial venue to Toronto because "court staff" may be benefitting from any damage awards or witnessed the convoy disruption firsthand. The Toronto judge rejected their arguments in part saying that anyonecin Toronto, court staff or judges, probably already witnessed the action on TV.
The class action suit still needs certification, a process slated for later this year or early the next.
The less we hear about Pierre Poilievre in any form, the better it is. Given the current situation between Canada and the USA, Pierre would have been a total sellout and more than glad that Mark Carney is handling the situation far better than a typical politician who spends more time worrying about re-election than what is right for the country.
The conservative party today is a joke, full of MAGA clowns and freedumbers, whom can't appreciate just how free this country is and the opportunities as Canadians we have to improve our lives, you just have to work for it as many of us have in the past.
It was clear for a couple of years that Poilievre and the CPC had nothing to offer Canadians anything other than rage and anti-Liberal/progressive/woke rhetoric. The so-called Freedom Convoy was our detestable tamed down copycat January 6th moment. There's a lot of jail time now accumulating for these self-proclaimed freedomers.
Perhaps the worst thing you can say about Poilievre and the CPC is that there isn't one iota of original thought or a fresh idea about Canada in their toolbox.
Carney isn't everone's cuppa. But he is one of the few adults in politics and he's quickly finding genuine alternatives to the partnership with the USA, which is descending into chaos. His sop to Alberta was seen in many circles as necessary (I don't agree, but I can see the political logic) and despite the conventional vs clean energy narratives (which followed a decade of his personal narratives on fighting climate change) we have yet to see what that means on the ground.
A single pipeline or CCS project is a stranded asset in the making, whether it receives loads of public money or not. They are losers right out if the gate because their vaunted long term future is being slowly but insidiously eroded by renewables.
Instead, let's see the renewable energy sector explode along with inter provincial grid interties. And let's see Carney's $35B housing project energize the housing supply.
Three questions for the "it's too early to tell what Carney is going to do" crowd:
1) Why would good projects — environmentally sound, climate-friendly projects — need to override any of Canada's environmental laws? Or trample democracy? Or be rammed through Parliament?
2) Why would Conservatives support the Liberals' Bill C-5?
3) What will Poilievre's Conservatives do with such powers?
All valid questions. The reality is Carney is a small c conservative with a social conscience. Many of the decisions this government makes will be decisions a conservative government would also make. He just won’t mouth off bigotry at every spare moment and he won’t try to appeal to the far-right. I don’t trust him at all, really, but he’s sure as hell better than Poilievre. And the NDP is in a mid-life crisis that will probably take over a decade to recover from. We’re stuck with Carney as our best option for the medium term
What about the long term?
What about our future?
What about our grandchildren?
Voting for climate failure under the Liberal banner election after election guarantees climate failure. Short-term compromises do not hold a long-term solution.
As long as Canadians vote for the Liberals' plan to fail, the Liberals have no reason to change their policy.
The climate plans of the Liberals and provincial NDP are premised on fossil-fuel expansion. Petro-progressives like Trudeau, Notley, and Horgan claim to accept the climate change science, but still push pipelines, approve LNG projects, promote oilsands expansion, subsidize fossil fuels, and let fossil fuel interests dictate the agenda. Canada's idea is to "green" (i.e., greenwash) its fossil fuels, not get off them.
Progressive voters supporting the federal Liberals and provincial NDP are voting for fossil-fuel expansion. A vote for the Liberals or provincial NDP is a vote for climate failure. The notion that the Conservatives are the arch-climate villains (albeit less effective servants of the fossil-fuel industry) is the rationalization that allows progressives to keep voting for climate failure.
The Liberals and the Conservatives are the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of climate denial and climate disaster. Both parties serve Corporate Canada. Only the Liberals are far more effective.
The petro-progressive Liberals and provincial NDP are not in a tug-of-war with Conservatives over climate. They are dance partners. Two sides of the same coin. Regardless of who is in office, Corporate Canada and Big Oil are in power. Corporate Canada dictates the agenda.
When it comes to fossil-fuel expansion, Trudeau, Carney, Harper, Scheer, O'Toole, Poilievre; Notley, Nenshi, Kenney, Smith; Horgan, and Eby are all on the same page.
Big Oil couldn't ask for a better setup. Terrified by the Conservative bogeyman, progressive voters run into the arms of Trudeau's Liberals/provincial NDP. CAPP can set their Conservative hounds on the Liberals/provincial NDP, while the petro-progressives give the O&G industry just about everything on its wishlist.
Federally, the Liberals play the fear card every election to limit the NDP and Green vote. The Liberals play a slick game, and progressive voters fall for it every time.
How many times will Lucy pin the football for Charlie Brown, only to pull it away at the last second? How many times will Charlie Brown fall for that trick?
How to break this impasse?
The only real leverage we have is our vote (and donation dollars).
Have the courage of your convictions.
Give the Liberals a time-out.
Voting for climate sends a powerful message to Corporate Canada and its government enablers.
Tell Canada's political parties that your vote depends on real climate action.
If progressive Canadians vote for climate, and the Liberals lose power, the Liberals will be forced to change their policies in alignment with progressive values in order to regain power.
If progressive Canadians vote in fear (i.e, "strategically") for the Liberals, the Liberals remain in power indefinitely — and never have to change their policies.
The only way out of this trap is to terminate the Liberals' contract. Yes, even if it means going several steps backwards under the Conservatives for a term or two.
To break the impasse, voters need to look beyond the short term. It's our long-term future that's at stake. When you are climbing a mountain, the trail does not always go up. Sometimes you have to descend a short distance before resuming your upward climb.
How else to get the message across that climate failure, a litany of broken promises, betrayals, cynicism, and disregard for First Nations, etc. are unacceptable?
If you reward failure, betrayal, and broken promises, expect more of the same.
If progressives wish to encourage Liberal politicians to ignore them, by all means, keep voting Liberal.
If you want to break them of the habit, park your vote elsewhere or stay home.
The Liberals have progressive voters over a barrel. Progressives must re-assert control of petro-progressive parties, set them on the right track, and keep leaders and government accountable. There is no hope otherwise.
Short-term pain for long-term gain.
If you vote for climate failure election after election, don't be surprised at the results.
Progressives have asserted control over the the Libs by forcing them into multiple minority governments with both the policy demand and the plug being in the NDP's hand. One could argue that the NDP allowed the oil expansion to happen because they were too chicken to pull the plug. In reality, we got a decent, life saving social policy in pharmacare with dental care added.
Today we have these policies AND the best housing policy in a half century (it has yet to become a plan, but at 35 billion bucks it's a biggie). But they are mixed in with oil and gas funding to our detriment. Again, was it not the NDP's role to put a lid on that?
If the Conservatives won the last election we would have a PM with absolutely no real world experience in anything (well, may Pierre had a paper route as a kid, or bagged groceries...), a government bent over double in meaningless fits of rage and revenge against anything centrist or progressive, mass bankruptcy from building multiple taxpayer-backed pipelines in all directions, no industrial carbon tax, and likely a total dismantling of the social safety net.
The Libs have been half bad and needed to be kicked in the rear on a regular basis when their progress on climate and decent social programs stalled. The NDP and other parties failed to kick hard enough. But by comparison, and based on their rhetoric and performance since 2015, the CPC is 100% bad for the climate AND the well being of Canadians specifically in terms of health, national finances and international relations.
Had progressive voters not voted Liberal (more acaccurately, not voted AGAINST Poilievre), Canada would already be halfway to 51st statehood.
Seems the only Canadian Conservative that supports an unemployed man receiving supportive government housing is the ‘leader’.