The choice
Two families, both alike in dignity. Chrystia Freeland delivered her fall economic statement to the House of Commons on Thursday. Pierre Poilievre gave a keynote speech to the Empire Club in Toronto. Of course one of them couldn’t resist talking about cryptocurrencies. Although if you think you know which, you might be surprised.
I have a “must be this tall to ride” yardstick I use when evaluating speeches to Bay Street crowds by conservative party leaders. In the 2000 federal campaign, Stockwell Day followed a strong opening week with a speech to the Business Council on National Issues, as it then was. Reporters following the Canadian Alliance leader were handed copies of a sturdy speech on economic policy that had been written for Day. He ignored it, and delivered his usual disjointed stump speech. Afterward, another pundit and I were whisked upstairs for dinner with the CEOs. Every question from them was a variation on, “How can we help Paul Martin become prime minister?” Eventually they decided three more years of Jean Chrétien was a bargain price to pay.
Poilievre passed the Day test easily enough. Speaking to a mostly friendly crowd — his first mention of eliminating carbon taxes got a round of applause — the Conservative leader was relaxed and focused. As he often did during the leadership campaign, he spoke exclusively about economic issues.
Mind you, economic issues are cultural issues too.
“I'm going to sell off 15% of the 37,000 underutilized federal buildings so that we can turn those properties into housing for our young people,” he said. “You know, it just warms my heart to think of the wonderful family rolling up in their U-Haul to move their belongings into their beautiful new home in the former headquarters of the CBC.”
That’s two — two — two cultural fights in one, come to think of it. Cutting funding to the CBC and letting public servants know that if they keep working from home he might sell their offices.