Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a campaign event in Toronto, April 2.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre publicly defended his campaign strategy as polls show the Liberals ahead, saying he will not abandon a focus on affordability and illegal drugs – “problems which predate Donald Trump, and which will outlast Donald Trump if we don’t act to fix them now.”
Critics including Kory Teneycke, campaign manager for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have predicted Mr. Poilievre will lose the federal election unless he quickly pivots and responds to Canadians’ fear and anxiety over the U.S. President’s economic war against Canada.
Mr. Teneycke, who oversaw Mr. Ford’s three consecutive majority government wins, told a Toronto audience on March 27 that tariffs must become Mr. Poilievre’s ballot box issue.
“These are tsunami waves that are crashing down trees and buildings and everything in their path right now,” said Mr. Teneycke, also a former adviser to then-Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.
On Wednesday, Mr. Poilievre publicly addressed such criticism before a Bay Street gathering of more than 260 Conservative supporters.
“Some Liberal supporters and lobbyists have asked why I keep talking about the cost of living, housing, crime and about the Liberal drug crisis, instead of focusing exclusively on Donald Trump,” he said. “My answer is this: the threat of the President’s actions against Canada are serious and I propose serious answers to those threats.”
But, he added, “the struggles Canadians are facing at home, the fear and the hurt I hear everywhere I go across this country – that is also real. And I will not stop talking about these problems.”
Opinion: Pierre Poilievre can still become prime minister – with a major strategy shift
The latest polling by Nanos Research suggests the federal Liberals hold an eight-point lead over the Conservatives. The current data are from a survey of 1,256 interviews over a three-night period ending April 1. A random survey of this size is considered accurate within 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Mr. Poilievre said not to expect changes in his campaign.
“I will be out there every day, outlining my plan to protect Canada against American tariffs. But I will also talk about my plan to build more homes, get people off drugs and into recovery, fix the budget to keep inflation down, cap immigration so we never again add people faster than we add jobs, homes and health care, and get criminals off our streets.”
Mr. Teneycke did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.