Poilievre has been called and ‘grating’ in Quebec. Now, he’s owning it

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OTTAWA – A new French-language advertisement starring Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre begins uncharacteristically for a campaign ad, with Poilievre offering an admission that his style of politics can seem brusque at times, especially to Quebecers.

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“Some people think my style is too direct, too blunt,” says Poilievre, leaning on a desk and smiling.

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The party and Poilievre want to explain his style to Quebec voters, according to sources who spoke on background. The Conservative party launched its biggest radio, TV and online ad campaign to date in Quebec to show how approachable he is, how funny he can be and why he does politics the way he does. Poilievre’s office did not comment on this story.

“I wonder, should we be cute and docile when negotiating tariffs with Donald Trump? Let’s take back control and put Canada first,” says Poilievre in one of the three versions of the ad.

Alain Rayes, the former Quebec lieutenant to Conservative leaders Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole, who is now an independent MP, saw the ad over the weekend where the relaxed Poilievre tries to explain himself to Quebecers.

“I think he will convince people,” he said. “When you meet him, he is very friendly. I still believe he is an extremely smart politician. But he uses techniques that I disapprove of,” he added.

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Rayes knows a thing or two about Poilievre’s style. He was attacked by the party in an automated text message sent out to party members in his riding of Richmond-Arthabaska days after Poilievre was elected leader in 2022.

At the time, Rayes had just led Jean Charest’s failed leadership campaign and had left the Conservative caucus because his “political ideals, values and convictions (were) not compatible” with those of Poilievre.

The attack implied that Rayes had quit the Conservative party because he “decided not to fight (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau’s inflation with Pierre Poilievre’s united team.” The party then apologized.

“There is kind of a moral endorsement by the tone that Pierre Poilievre uses. So, these people were reassured with the overwhelming victory they had during the leadership race. They felt that they had the right strategy and tone,” said Rayes in an interview with the National Post.

Rayes is just one example of Poilievre’s targets. The leader gives his opponents nicknames. He has called the mayors of Montreal and Quebec City “incompetent” and has argued for months that the Bloc Québécois and the Liberal Party of Canada are in a coalition, when they are not.

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“In Quebec, the Republican-style politics doesn’t jive,” said a Conservative source.

But Poilievre wants to win in Quebec, sources tell us. In fact, he may even need Quebec, especially with the Liberals surging in the polls. With 10 seats, the Conservatives are hoping to boost their fortunes in the next election by flipping Bloc seats in Centre-du-Québec, Quebec City and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

Eric Blais, the president of Headspace Marketing, who has worked for more than 40 years in marketing and communications in English and French Canada, said he was surprised by Poilievre’s apparent admission that he has a “grating sort of style”, a style that isn’t exactly “endearing with many Quebecers.”

“So he’s trying to address the elephant in the room, but I don’t think he is, because to then pivot and suggest that that very style is what’s needed to fight Trump… ‘I’m the right guy, because I have a style that is, that can be disruptive, that can be grading’, I’m not so sure Quebecers are going to buy that,” said Blais.

According to him, Poilievre still has a “Je ne sais quoi”, something that just doesn’t land with this electorate.

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“These videos confirm that he knows it. Though it might be a strength to fight Trump, this admission will not make him more sympathetic in the minds of Quebec voters,” he suggested.

Sources close to him would not say whether Poilievre intends to change his style. “He’s himself and he speaks for himself,” one of them said.

So, what is the offer to Quebecers? In his Canada first rally, Poilievre mentioned La Belle Province a few times in his hour-long speech, but did not propose anything specific for Quebecers.

“Our heritage and citizenship departments will have an official policy of promoting our common national identity. The goal is not to erase our differences but to bridge them,” he said.

He also focused on national symbols like Sir John A. MacDonald, Canada’s first prime minister, who is still a divisive figure in Quebec. And Terry Fox, a national hero he wants to see on Canadians’ passports.

In fact, the Liberals took issue with many of the things he said in his speech.

“Where has Pierre been? He is late to the game. A new slogan does not change the fact he has always put Canada second after his own interest and career,” said Guillaume Bertrand, who was the Liberal Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos’s spokesperson at the time.

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In a recent press conference, Poilievre’s Quebec Lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus said the party will elaborate on its offer to Quebecers during the next campaign.

“What we recognize is that Quebec is a nation that has different issues that must be addressed in a particular way in Quebec. So, in the details we will go further in time and place,” he said.

In 2019 and 2021, Rayes convinced the party to launch a platform solely for Quebec, to recognize the “distinct society” and to convince the nationalists to move away from the Bloc Québécois. It didn’t work, and in another move that hopes to change Conservative fortunes in Quebec, Poilievre will not present such a platform this time.

National Post
atrepanier@postmedia.com

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