Leaders lose and then win all the time. Jean Charest lost in Quebec in 1998 before winning in 2003. Dalton McGuinty lost in Ontario before winning. Lester Pearson lost twice to John Diefenbaker before winning. Stephen Harper lost before winning. François Legault lost twice before winning. Could Pierre Poilievre yet be prime minister? Hard to say. I haven’t been to the future so I’m not sure what’s in it.
Poilievre spent 2022 to 2025 coming close to winning. He is eager to try again. His method is to call Mark Carney a terrible prime minister. He’ll need the number of Canadians who agree to increase, but that’s all the more reason to start early. He was at it on Aug. 22, responding to Carney’s announcement that he’ll drop counter-tariffs on CUSMA-compliant goods.
It’s time for all good pundits to offer previews of Parliament’s return. I want to go back to Poilievre’s late-August scrum, because I think it offers the best preview of the confrontation Poilievre wants and will seek to deliver. To me it’s not entirely persuasive. I’m not sure it’ll be ineffective.
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