Pierre Poilievre mixes harsh criticism with call to inspire ‘hope’ in his pre-holiday caucus speech

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tory politicians must pair a positive message of hope with their pointed criticisms of the government, as they prepare to return home to their constituencies this winter.

Addressing Conservative MPs and Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday, Poilievre’s caucus speech was open to the media and he took the opportunity to deliver a speech full of attacks on the government but also outlining a series of Conservative policy proposals .

“It’s true that people are hurting, but it’s our job as the Official Opposition to turn that pain into hope, to inspire people that real improvement in their lives is possible,” he said. he declares.

Giving slightly different speeches first in French then in English, Poilievre denounced in quick succession the policies of the Liberal government in terms of energy, housing and the management of the health care system.

He said a Conservative government would work with the provinces to address health worker shortages by recognizing more foreign educational credentials.

“It makes my blood boil to sit in a waiting room with my daughter, who occasionally gets a migraine, while she waits and waits with the other small children because of the lack of doctors,” said Poilievre.

The Conservative leader lamented the high cost of living, noting that many Canadians struggle with food security and would pay more for Christmas dinners this year.

WATCH | Poilievre discusses health care wait times:Poilievre: Hospital wait times, ‘makes my blood boil’ Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to his caucus about the state of the health care system in Canada.

Caucus members responded enthusiastically to his message on guns, which has become a major point of contention in recent weeks when the government introduced controversial amendments to its gun control legislation.

“Instead of targeting hunters by banning their shotguns, we will target real criminals by increasing consequences for repeat offenders, reducing crime while maintaining the tradition of hunting in this country,” he said. in French.

Parliament likely to start winter recess today (Government House Leader)

In a refrain that is becoming increasingly common in his speeches, Poilievre compared his own “humble origins” raised by two teachers after being given up for adoption by a single mother to other Canadians hoping to build a good life in this country through hard work.

“It’s the spirit of Canada,” he said.

“Our job is always to stand on the side of everyday people, their paychecks, their savings, their homes, their country.”

Parliament is expected to end its session soon and MPs are likely to return to their constituencies until the end of January.

“I think today will probably be the day,” Government House Leader Mark Holland said ahead of Wednesday’s Liberal caucus meeting.

This will conclude the first leg of Poilievre’s tenure as leader of the Conservative Party.

Just over three months after winning a landslide victory in the leadership race, his party leadership suffered its first miniature test earlier this week in a by-election in Missisauga-Lakeshore. The Conservatives roughly maintained their share of the vote from 2021, while the Liberals retained control of the seat. The NDP’s vote share has been cut in half from the last election.

The outcome of the single, narrow election was hailed by Liberals, but downplayed by Conservatives and New Democrats.

“A result in a by-election that for three decades has been Liberal is not really going to inform my decision about the future of our movement or our party,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said ahead of Question Period. tuesday.

“We already knew that this riding was strongly in favor of the Liberals, so it is not necessarily negative for us,” said Quebec Conservative MP Jol Godint on Wednesday.

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