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October 6, 2024 - 6:00pm
Canadians think Justin Trudeau is the worst prime minister since 1968. That might sound like hyperbole, but a recent poll revealed that 38% of Canadian respondents believe Trudeau to be the worst leader the country has seen in more than half a century. It’s no surprise, then, to see the Prime Minister’s Liberal Party fighting tooth and nail for second place with Jagmeet Singh’s Left-wing NDP, with both parties sitting 20 points behind Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.
But why have the Conservatives seen such a surge in support, especially among voters in the 18-35 age bracket? An astonishing 47% of Canadian Millennials would vote for Poilievre if an election were held today, and nearly half of all Canadians want an election to be called this year. The reasons why the leader of the Conservative Party is doing so well among young voters are largely economic: high inflation, a cost-of-living crisis, and housing unaffordability are all driving people away from the Liberals, who have been in power for almost 10 years.
But there are also other reasons why Millennials are turning away from Trudeau. For example, his ham-fisted attempts at regulating the internet in an effort to fight “disinformation” and support for climate change policies — in particular the carbon tax brought in by the Liberals — have been losing public support in recent months. The latter issue has been particularly seized upon by Poilievre, whose promise to “Axe the Tax” has resonated strongly with Millennials on social media.
This week, the Tory leader released a campaign ad that went viral online. The one-minute clip highlights Poilievre’s humble beginnings as an orphan adopted by two school teachers in Alberta, growing up playing ice hockey and being taught that Canada was a land of opportunity for anyone who worked hard for it — but not anymore. His claims that “debt, taxes, and crime are up, jobs are down, immigration is broken […] woke obsessions dishonour our history, destroy our education, degrade our military, and divide our people” don’t shy away from saying what many Canadians are thinking.
Ever since winning the Conservative leadership race in 2022, Poilievre has harped on these messages, which more and more Canadians are starting to agree with. This past summer, parents of teenagers and young adults were outraged to see their kids sitting home idly without jobs because most low-skilled and entry-level employment went to unskilled, temporary foreign workers, almost entirely from India. The sharp increase in crime committed by international students and unvetted temporary residents who join Punjabi gangs in Canada and have been behind a rash of auto thefts across the country has further disillusioned voters from the out-of-control immigration policies the Liberals have brought in over the last decade.
Poilievre is campaigning to reverse course on immigration and build more houses if elected prime minister. Importantly, he is seen as more trustworthy than Trudeau, with more than half of Canadians describing Poilievre as “open and honest about his actions, decisions, and intentions”, whereas only 39% feel the same about Trudeau. These traits could also explain why Poilievre is polling well, not only with young voters, but also with women who have traditionally favoured either the Liberals or the NDP over Conservatives.
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