Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is betting big and he doubled down on his “Canada First” message in a fiery speech at a rally in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon where he promised, if elected prime minister, to deliver a forceful response to Donald Trump’s tariffs and to build a self-sufficient Canada.

Poilievre (Carleton, Ont.) addressed a crowd of about 1,000 people—including Conservative MPs and party members—at his “Canada First” rally at the Rogers Centre, just a few blocks from Parliament Hill on Feb. 15.

In his hour-and-a-half-long speech, Poilievre painted himself as the most capable Canadian politician to stand up against what he called “unjustified” threats of tariffs and annexation from the United States, and he pledged to take a strong stand. 

“We must respond with strength. … We have leverage. I will use that leverage. Retaliation is only the beginning,” he said, adding that counter-measures would include “carefully targeting” American goods on a dollar-for-dollar basis, while maximizing production in Canada.

In his message to Washington, D.C., Poilievre said: “Option one, you can carry out an unprovoked attack on our economy. Your consumers will pay more, and your workers will make less. Gas prices will skyrocket. You will turn a loyal friend into a resentful neighbour, forced to match tariff with tariff, and seek friends elsewhere.”

Despite his pointed rhetoric, Poilievre signalled a willingness to also embrace a diplomatic resolution to foster stronger trade and security partnership with the U.S. “Option two, we trade even more, and both our workers make more and our consumers pay less. If Canada is not your friend, who is?” he asked.

The rally was held on the 60th anniversary of the birth of Canada’s red-and-white Maple Leaf flag and it followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods exported to the U.S. and annexation threats. These threats have ignited a surge of patriotism across the nation, but they’ve also tightened the public opinion polls between the Conservatives and the Liberals. The crowd of Poilievre supporters, many dressed in red and white to honour Canada’s flag, held signs with slogans reading “Canada First” and “Stop the Drugs.”

Poilievre also challenged his Liberal rivals. He accused Liberals of “instrumentalizing the tariff threat to distract” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s (Papineau, Que.) record. He also took a shot at the front-runner of the Liberal leadership race, former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

“He wants to change the tax. Right. … He will take the change right out of your pocket. His new and bigger carbon tax will help America take every industrial job from Canada. They will be popping the champagne at the Trump Tower when the carbon-tax-Carney comes in,” he said.

He argued that Trump’s tariff threats “have proven Conservatives right on everything.” Dismissing the assertions that he is shifting focus from his campaign’s main promise of “axing” the Liberal government’s carbon tax to tackling American threats, Poilievre said that cancelling the carbon tax remains central to his platform.

Poilievre said the Conservative policies are the key to a stronger, more self-reliant Canada.  The Conservative leader pledged to “unleash the production of our resources” to make Canada “self-sufficient.” As part of this effort, he said within 60 days of taking office, he would revoke Bill C-69, also known as the “no more pipelines” act. He also vowed to fast-track approvals for LNG plants, mines, and other energy projects. He also said he supports a national West-to-East pipeline from the Prairies to Saint John, N.B.

“You know, the media is now saying that I should change my entire platform because of the tariff threat. In fact, the Trump tariff threats have proven Conservatives right on everything,” Poilievre said. “Everyone now admits or they claim to admit the Conservatives were right on the Liberal capital gains tax, that Conservatives were right on the carbon tax, on pipelines, on LNG, on fentanyl, the borders, immigration, and the need to celebrate rather than cancel our proud history.”

Poilievre also pledged to convene provincial and territorial premiers within 30 days of taking office to remove trade restrictions between provinces.

On combating drug trafficking, Poilievre vowed to impose life sentences to fentanyl traffickers and committed to cancelling Liberal bail reforms bills C-5 and C-75 which he said eased sentencing for gun and drug-related offences.

As part of border security measures, Poilievre said he would deploy surveillance helicopters and drones as well as 2,000 new border agents to monitor illegal immigration. 

Conservative MP says they are taking the tariff threat ‘very serious’

Conservative MP Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge, Alta.) told The Hill Times ahead of Poilievre’s speech that her party is taking the tariff threats “very seriously,” and said her party is not redefining its message. “It has always been clear. It’s always been about Canadians,” she said.

When asked how the “Canada First” rhetoric might resonate with the U.S., Conservative MP Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, Alta.) said: “I don’t know what they’re thinking, and, frankly, I don’t care.”

Kmiec accused the Liberals of dragging Canada into a “crisis,” and said: “There’s already tariffs. The Liberals talked a good game. They failed. They didn’t get a pause on any tariffs, and there’s a ton of economic weakness that they have brought upon Canadians.”

Multiple MPs declined The Hill Times‘ requests for a comment after the rally, citing their flight schedules, while others refused to respond. But the few who did comment were upbeat about their leader and the party’s prospects for the next federal election. 

Conservative MP and his party’s defence critic James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman, Man.) described Poilievre’s speech as “very prime ministerial,” adding, “this is about showcasing that we are prepared to govern, that we are the party that is going to fight hard for Canada. Trump will make of it, what he wants.”

Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, (South Surrey-White Rock, B.C) said she has “absolute confidence” in Poilievre and the Conservative team to deliver on their promises if they win the next election. “We protect our sovereignty by increasing our prosperity and becoming more self reliant. We need a leader who is strong and has confidence in our own people and in uniting our country so we can handle anything,” she said.

“We’re keeping our core messages, they resonate with everyone, because everyone is struggling. We still have a cost of living crisis, but the ‘Canada First’ part of it, I guess, was in part prompted by Trump’s agitation,” Findlay said.

Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles, Que.) said at this current time “it is a moment” for Conservatives to lead the way. 

“We’ve said the same thing for more than two years, while we talk about carbon tax and all the other issues, but today, with the tariffs from the U.S., it’s just confirmed what the Conservatives want to do, we have to put it in force,” he said. “We are ready.”

Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Ont.), echoed Poilievre’s claim that Liberal leadership candidate Carney would ultimately impose a carbon tax that would benefit the U.S. over Canada. “The most Canadian thing that we can do is to axe the tax. That’s why it’s so important to put Canada first and vote for Pierre Poilievre,” he said.

ikoca@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

 

Irem Koca is a Turkish-Canadian journalist who joined The Hill Times in late 2023. She got her start in Canadian media in the Toronto Star's Ottawa bureau, covering federal politics and national stories under the paper's year-long fellowship. With a background in broadcast journalism, she spent several years as a world news reporter at CNN Turkey. Her freelance work on Turkish politics has been featured in The New York Times and Reuters. She is fluent in English and Turkish. See all stories BY IREM KOCA