A new, improved stump speech for Pierre
It's time for Poilievre to pivot to leadership and inspiration. Here's how he could start.
A few posts back, I wondered aloud if Pierre Poilievre could become the leader Canada needs at this critical juncture in our history. Remarks from readers fell pretty clearly into partisan lines: Conservatives say “Hell, Yes!” Liberals say “Hell, No!”
We now have a new Prime Minister – and yes, Mark Carney is Canada’s new Prime Minister as legitimately as any PM we’ve ever had. His ministry, however, may be one of the shortest lived there ever was. Or, maybe not. Polling suggests the Liberals are now neck and neck with the Conservatives who, under Poilievre, built and then squandered a commanding 20-point lead.
As I’ve argued before, Canada does not need an attack dog to lead it. We need a leader to inspire us to greatness through the immense adversity that is beginning now and unlikely to end before Trump leaves the White House. Maybe not even then. This is a crisis for Canada.
But in every crisis, there is opportunity. A great leader will show us that opportunity and motivate us to follow him as we make it real.
Is Carney that leader? I don’t know. He’s got the “mystery factor” working in his advantage: Canadians don’t really know him so he benefits greatly from the mystery. As a consultant, I’ve used this advantage too many time to count. People pay consultants enormous sums to give them advice because they don’t know enough about the consultant to doubt them. Almost always the consultant’s advice is self-evident and the client benefits. But the client wouldn’t have had the confidence to take the decisions themselves, because they know their weaknesses too well and it fills them with doubts. Easier to let an “expert” tell you what you already knew.
So far, Carney has been OK. He presents as mature and thoughtful – a stark contrast to Justin Trudeau. He’s got an impressive resume of management success, but no clear indicator if he’s ever led anyone anywhere. Management is not leadership. He certainly shares Trudeau’s super-sized ego and has a volatile temper he hasn’t yet learned to hide from the public. Will he learn in time for an election expected to be called this Sunday? Time will tell.
Is Poilievre that leader? I don’t know. He has all the parts he needs to become one, but has yet to assemble them correctly. Whether that’s a function of his will and personality, or of poor counsel from his inner circle, is hard to tell. Again, time will tell.
It’s quite possible neither man can do the job. For Canada’s sake I hope that’s not the case. For my part, I hope Poilievre is the right man and I pray he successfully transforms into an inspirational leader. Carney is vastly superior to Trudeau. He’s cagey enough to steal platform ideas from the Conservatives when he knows they’ll win. But he fronts the same team that brought Canada a decade of darkness and despair. That team is unlikely to pursue a different course now. They are set in their ways.
Poilievre’s recent paid advertising has shifted to a more inspirational motif. That’s promising, but his delivery remains too scripted, too automaton-like, and his public speeches have not yet followed the shift. That must change.
Here’s an entirely unsolicited and almost certainly unwelcome stump speech for Poilievre that could start the shift. It’s far too long. But, hey… it’s free.
My name is Pierre Poilievre and I want to be your next Prime Minister.
I am not a European. I am not an American. I am a Canadian.
And I’m damned proud of it.
I have spent my entire career working for Canada. Some say that’s a weakness. I do not. I’ve dedicated my life to making Canada a better place for all of us to live, to work, to raise our families and build our future together. Some of that time was in cabinet working as part of government. Some of it has been in opposition, advocating for better policies, better laws, better lives for Canadians.
I have never sought fame and fortune abroad.
In the past 21 years as an elected MP, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to travel this country from one side to the other, from the southernmost points to the Arctic Ocean. I’ve met and spoken with thousands of everyday Canadians. In English and in French. People just like you and me. I’ve heard their hopes and their fears. I’ve witnessed their triumphs and their tragedies. From them – from you – I’ve learned what’s most important. And what’s not.
My opponent has not been so fortunate. He’s never held a job that allowed him to spend years talking with everyday Canadians. It’s hard to get the pulse of a nation from the ivory towers of the finance department, or behind the granite walls of the Bank of Canada – or from elite boardrooms in distant lands overseas. He can steal Conservative Party policies, as he regularly does, in an attempt at a radical makeover, hoping you’ll forget what his Liberal Party has done for the past 10 years.
But – you see – he doesn’t understand where those policies came from. They came from you. From Canadians struggling to do the hard work required to make this a better place to live, work, invest and raise families. The Conservative Party listened to you and built our priorities on your ideas, concerns, hopes and experiences.
You may recognize some of his words as your own. But you also see the Liberal team as the same radical activists who systematically destroyed this country over the last 10 years. If those were “sunny ways,” I can tell you: we need no more of them.
In this election, I’m asking you not to forget who led us down this 10-year path to darkness and difficulty. I’m asking you to vote for the policies and ideas you shared with us. I’m asking you to vote for the Conservative Party candidate in your riding to bring your hopes to Ottawa and make them happen. I’m asking you to vote for me to be your Prime Minister to make sure that, together, we turn the corner on a lost decade.
I’m a Canadian. I have one passport, not three. Like you, I’m all-in on Canada.
We can do this together.
From the first Canadians to arrive here, centuries before Europeans, we have built a society that values individuals working together in communities, making small sacrifices for each other to improve the lives of all.
Canadians are proud of Canada. Our history and our future. Our country was built by real people with a shared vision of a brighter future. A place where people from everywhere can build new communities, new families in a prosperous nation.
Those real Canadians were human. They made mistakes. We will not shy away from the truth. But we will not deny their accomplishments, shun their efforts, or hide their successes under canvas tarpaulins or behind plywood boards. We will celebrate and learn from our past as we build a better, brighter, richer, stronger, free-er future for our children– and our children’s children. We will do this together.
We must make life in Canada affordable again. Just a generation ago, a working class family with one income could raise two kids, own a home and a car, and take two vacations a year. Today, that is the stuff of historical fiction. We must make it real again.
We start by eliminating taxes that allow us to grow the size of government, without reducing the burden and cost on Canadians. A carbon tax by any other name smells just as foul – costs just as much. We all want a clean, safe world for our great grandchildren and will do everything sensible to achieve that. But it doesn’t make sense to starve our children to death to protect their grandchildren. We will face climate change pragmatically and effectively. We will do this together.
We must make our private sector more productive and our government more affordable – smaller, less costly and more efficient. We must create the conditions for investment in new businesses and new capabilities. We must eliminate burdensome red tape at every level of government and speed investment, development and construction of new infrastructure. We must develop new markets abroad for Canadian goods – and even more importantly – Canadian services. Canada must become the most trusted, safe harbour for international money.
Look. I’ve worked most of my life in the public sector. But, I’ve always done so with the understanding it is the private sector that built Canada – not the government. The private sector is the engine that built our nation and it is the private sector that will make Canada greater, stronger, wealthier for all of us.
Every single job in government is built on the backs of private sector workers. Our public sector exists only to protect and care for Canadians and to make it easier for the private sector to grow and succeed. That is its purpose. That is my purpose. We will do this together.
Canadians speak two official languages. Scores of indigenous languages. And hundreds of others. I am blessed to be able to talk with Canadians in both French and English. Canada would be stronger if more of our children were able to live and work in both English and French – as well as the ancestral languages of their parents and ancestors. Languages make us stronger by opening doors, creating opportunities and giving Canadians an advantage in the world. We will do this together.
Generations ago, Canadians entered a solemn covenant with one another to ensure nobody goes without life saving medical treatment for want of money to pay the bills. Universal healthcare is a social covenant we all hold dear. But our healthcare system today is failing us. It is time to throw aside the shackles of fear and find new ways to keep our covenant alive in the 21st Century so our children will continue to enjoy and afford universal healthcare. We will do this together.
Canadians want safer streets not performative Liberal policies and photo opps. We should absolutely work to eliminate the conditions that lead to crime, but we must also commit to vigorously enforcing the laws we have collectively agreed upon, and ensuring our justice system represents the best interests and will of Canadians within a framework of fundamental rights.
We must focus our efforts on fighting crime and criminals. We must stop abusing the most law-abiding Canadians among us while pretending that’s being tough on crime. It isn’t. Law-abiding Canadians who possess and use firearms lawfully for sport and recreation, to protect themselves and their livestock from wild predators, or to feed their families deserve our respect. Not persecution. We will do this together.
With a change of management in Washington, Canada is facing a great crisis. We are not alone. The entire western world is facing these tumultuous times with us. But from every crisis, comes great opportunities. It is time for Canada to seize ours. We will do this together.
I am not a friend of Donald Trump. I stand for Canada. I always have. And I always will. Like you, there is much I admire about the United States. And, I have many friends who are American. But, I am not envious of them.
I admire the American spirit of enterprise, the entrepreneurial willingness to take calculated risks and build greatness through hard work. I admire the way, for two centuries, the US has attracted many of the best and brightest from around the world to pursue their dreams of opportunity and freedom there. Those qualities built the richest, most powerful nation on Earth. That time, it seems, may be passing. With it, there is opportunity for Canada.
I do not admire the scourge of violence and crime that lays waste to too many American neighbourhoods. I do not envy the poverty that is too prevalent in too many communities in the USA. I do not envy the fact too many Americans must face life-altering diseases and healthcare disasters too often alone.
I am not happy with the number of criminals, drugs and guns that enter Canada each day from the United States. We must better secure our borders to prevent more bad people and bad things from entering Canada overland or by air or from the seas.
I do not admire the supersized egos of some American politicians – and billionaires –that blind them to the fact not everyone in the world wants to join them. Like me, many Canadians admire many of America’s best qualities. But, like me, very few Canadians want to be American. If I round the figures upwards, I can confidently say that zero Canadians want to be part of a 51st state.
That will never happen. It was a long bloody struggle – on both sides of the border – the last time someone tried to annex Canada. It will be even longer and bloodier now, if someone is foolish enough to try again.
Most Americans understand this. Most Americans are perfectly happy being our friends and visiting our great country. Most Americans are rightly proud to set a shining example of freedom and democracy for the world to see and admire - and follow, as it suits them. Most Americans do not feel it is their destiny to impose America’s will on the world. Or on their neighbours. Certainly not on their friends.
At this time of crisis, Canada has an unparalleled opportunity to attract more of the best and brightest people from around the world to join us in our effort to build a stronger, richer, free-er nation.
To do this, we must attract investments from around the world by making Canada the best place to build a business. We must develop our own talent and attract the smartest and most innovative scientists, researchers, academics and entrepreneurs by making Canada the best place in the world to make new discoveries and bring them to market. These new Canadians must have homes to live in and jobs to work at. We already have too few homes, so we must build first.
We must build new homes in new and existing communities across this country – and ensure every Canadian can afford to rent or own a comfortable and attractive place to live – to raise a family – to build a future. We will do this together.
To do all of this, Canada must be strong.
We must be able to defend ourselves from economic and military attacks on our freedom. Our independence. Our ability to chart our own course. To follow our own destiny.
We must eliminate barriers to trade between Canadians. Whether you live in Halifax or Bagotville – Sault-Ste-Marie or Port-au-Basque – Esquimalt or Iqaluit – in any province or any territory of our great nation – qualified practitioners of any trade or profession must be able to work free of local protectionism.
Canadians in Kamloops must be able to buy wines from Prince Edward County as easily as from the Okanagan Valley. Carpenters from Alberta must be able to build homes in New Brunswick or Newfoundland and Labrador. Nurses from PEI must be able to care for patients in Nunavut, or Saskatchewan, or Ontario. We will do this together.
We must become an independent energy powerhouse. We must be able to transport Canadian energy to every Canadian home and business without it travelling through foreign lands. Conservatives have been calling for a national energy corridor since 2019. Even my opponents now sees the wisdom in that idea, despite a decade of Liberal regulation that blocked it at every turn.
We must also be able to ship our energy products to profitable, peaceable and friendly markets around the globe – from Canadian ports on three oceans. We will do this together.
Canada is a rich nation. Our lands and waters are vast and full of riches. We must be able to defend them – and use them to benefit Canadians. And our friends and allies around the world.
We have the second largest land mass and the longest coastline of any nation on Earth. Two-thirds of our coastline is in the Arctic. Many of our adversaries – and some of our allies – covet Canada’s northern resources. We must ensure Canadians benefit first and most from their development.
At the end of World War Two Canada had the third largest navy in the world. In the Cold War our Royal Canadian Air Force could launch over 400 fighter aircraft of multiple types into the skies to defend Canada and western Europe. We had thousands of soldiers in a combat-capable mechanized brigade permanently stationed in West Germany. We were a credible, respected warfighting nation and a valued member of NATO and of NORAD – committed to the defence of Canada, the continent of North America and the freedom of Europe.
After decades of neglect, Canada is no longer as capable of defending ourselves and our allies. The “free ride” has been far too costly. Canada’s military must be rebuilt. Like a solid old house, it still has “good bones.” But it needs rapid action. First and foremost it needs a government willing to stand up and proudly declare the primary purpose of Canada’s Armed Forces is to fight and win in combat. To defend Canadians and Canadian interests, at home and abroad, using violence where necessary. With allies where possible.
Canadian soldiers made great peacekeepers. Not just because they were, by nature, firm, fair and friendly. But, because they were warriors respected by combatants on the battlefield. We still have those warriors. But, we need more of them. Many more.
To thrive in this century, in this world, where alliances are shifting and friends are changing, Canada must revive our military pride and rebuild our military power. We do not seek to impose our will on anyone, anywhere. But we will fight to prevent anyone, from anywhere, imposing their will on us. And we will stand free, strong and ready to fight alongside our allies and friends around the world. We will do this together.
Friends, Canadians –– There is much that is broken in this country we all love. But all of it can be fixed. We will do this together.
Unlike Mr. Trudeau, Canadians know we are a proud nation with many shared values and interests from coast-to-coast-to-coast. It is time to recapture this pride. We will do this together.
My opponent’s best ideas come from the Conservative Party. Our best ideas came from you. From Canadians in every community across this country. I’ve spent 21 years talking with you, learning from, advocating for you. Now, it’s time to put your ideas to work for Canada. We will do this together.
Like you, I am a Canadian. And, like you, I am damned proud of it.
I am bursting with pride for this country – our nation – and believe our best years are ahead of us. Those years start right now, right here, with this election. I can’t wait for us to get started. Together.
My name is Pierre Poilievre and I want to be your next Prime Minister.
I am all-in on Canada – and I know you are too.
Please join me in this effort. Let us do this together.
Thank you.
What would you add or delete from this speech? How would you respond to it?
Bravo Mark. I hope you send this to Pierre AND that he takes not of it! We cannot have another Justin 2.0
The Liberals achieved over 70% of their campaign promises..which we voted for. A dark decade? You must still be in recovery mode from Covid PTSD..