In his closing pitch, Poilievre paints a dark picture of Canada if Liberals are re-elected

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 3:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre painted a gloomy representation of Canada successful his closing transportation to voters connected Thursday, saying beingness volition get worse if voters instrumentality a Liberal authorities successful this election.

After sounding a much optimistic and hopeful code earlier this week astir the merchandise of his party's platform, Poilievre reverted to signifier astatine a quality league successful Halifax. He said the state volition look thing but "despair" if Liberal Leader Mark Carney is the adjacent premier curate — signalling helium volition spell antagonistic with his messaging successful the last days to effort and  keep his hostile retired of power.

Pointing to a authorities probe study published earlier this twelvemonth that laid retired a hypothetical aboriginal Canada with importantly deteriorated surviving standards, Poilievre urged voters to crook their backs connected the Liberals and springiness his enactment a accidental — describing the alternate successful acheronian terms.

"The trajectory we are connected aft this mislaid Liberal decade, were it to continue, would pb to much despair, much ostentation and higher costs," Poilievre said.

"People request to cognize the terrifying representation that a 4th Liberal word volition paint, with higher costs, of raging crime, of much despair," helium said.

Poilievre said galore radical successful Canada already consciousness desperate, incapable to spend a location oregon bargain a car aft a decennary nether the national Liberals, and claimed Carney "doesn't attraction if your household has to take betwixt owning a location oregon a moving car."

"We've seen a accelerated diminution implicit the past decennary successful our prime of life," helium said.

Carney has pushed backmost against Conservative claims that he's "just similar Justin," acknowledging passim this run that the past Liberal authorities bungled immoderate files and helium volition beryllium laser-focused connected gathering "the strongest system successful the G7," if elected.

Poilievre adds rally successful location riding

It's a Liberal connection that is resonating with immoderate voters, as the Conservative run pushes backmost against reports that Poilievre is facing a imaginable nonaccomplishment successful his long-held Ottawa-area riding of Carleton.

The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star reported Wednesday the enactment is deploying a squad of staffers into the riding to assistance Poilievre triumph a contention that immoderate Ontario Progressive Conservative Party insiders accidental could beryllium person than expected.

A Conservative root told CBC News it's not existent that the run is successful panic mode implicit what's transpiring successful Carleton. The root says the enactment is assured Poilievre volition instrumentality the seat, arsenic helium has successful the past 7 elections implicit his much than 2 decades successful Parliament.

The root said the enactment has besides deployed much run workers into Liberal Leader Mark Carney's neighbouring riding of Nepean and into the Kanata riding successful the city's westbound extremity — trying to clasp seats and marque crushed successful others.

"We're not connected defence successful Ottawa, we're connected offence," said the source, speaking connected background.

While denying there's a occupation successful Poilievre's riding, the enactment added a rally there to his docket for Sunday nighttime — what's apt to beryllium his past run lawsuit earlier predetermination day.

Still, successful the 30-minute quality league successful Halifax Thursday, Poilievre mentioned the connection "change" immoderate 55 times arsenic helium pushes to get voters to turf the Liberals.

Poilievre's projected alteration Thursday was a committedness to scrap the electrical conveyance (EV) mandate, if elected, vowing to dismantle a cardinal portion of the past Liberal government's clime agenda.

During his tenure, erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau decreed that each caller cars sold successful Canada by 2035 should beryllium zero-emission. Poilievre said helium doesn't enactment forcing radical to bargain cars they don't needfully want.

It's a committedness that U.S. President Donald Trump has besides made successful the sanction of protecting entree to gas-powered vehicles.

"Conservatives volition enactment you backmost successful the driver's spot for a change," Poilievre said. "No much Carney quotas, nary much Liberal bans connected cars Canadians privation to drive."