Good morning,
When Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took the stage at a campaign stop just south of Edmonton this week, the crowd was massive. Some have said it may have been the biggest political rally ever held in Canada.
While estimating crowd sizes is a fool’s errand – Conservatives say between 10,000 to 15,000 people were in attendance; Alberta RCMP say it was between 9,000 and 12,000 – what is clear is it was huge. And supporters were fired up.
The Globe and Mail’s Laura Stone was there, getting a first-hand look at the energy generated at one of these events, which are filling venues across the country.
“This is a movement like we’ve never seen because people want change,” Poilievre told reporters Tuesday.
In the room packed with reliable Alberta voters, former prime minister Stephen Harper gave Poilievre a rousing endorsement in his introduction of the Conservative Leader.
But while Poilievre’s campaign has tried to focus on issues like resource development, tax cuts and expanding Canada’s trade beyond its dependence on the United States, as Laura reported, the loudest cheers at the rally were for “slashing carbon levies, kicking the CBC out of its Toronto headquarters to make room for housing, cutting foreign aid and a promise to promote ‘warrior culture – not a woke culture’ in the military.”
And some supporters clearly don’t believe that Poilievre has blown a double-digit lead in the polls in a matter of months.
“They expressed skepticism about polls, as well as the media, and an almost disbelief that the Liberals could be elected for a fourth term,” Laura wrote.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney appears to still be ahead as Poilievre has been trying to hammer home his message while pointing out that crowd size does matter.
But the perceived disconnect between what the polls reflect and the enthusiasm seen at the rallies is breeding doubt among some of his supporters about what is “really” happening.
“Usually, I feel like you can trust the polls. But if you look at what happened in the United States, I don’t know, is there something funny going on with them this time around?” said rally-goer Evan Weller.
By mid-week, supporters at a Conservative rally in Brampton, Ont., were seen wearing shirts and holding signs that said, “Do you believe the polls?”
The party was quick to dismiss the idea, perhaps recognizing its similarity to disinformation campaigns about election fraud led by backers of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The signs and shirts are not party or campaign products,” said Sam Lilly, a spokesperson for the Conservative Party.
When Poilievre was asked on Thursday at an event in Milton, Ont., if he believes the polls and if he will accept the results of the election no matter the outcome, he answered with a quick “yes.”
Here’s hoping citizens get the message that being on Team Canada means not just buying Canadian-grown vegetables at the grocery store but also showing trust in the integrity of the federal election.
This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.