Canada’s Conservatives have elected Pierre Poilievre, an unabashed populist, as their leader. Some have taken this as a sign that divisive Trump-style politics are becoming popular in Canada, but that isn’t really the case.
Poilievre’s message lacks the xenophobia that is, unfortunately, too often seen in conservative populism. It instead focuses on economic issues, such as tackling inflation and Canada’s catastrophic housing affordability crisis, as well as maximizing personal freedom. Poilievre has also aggressively rallied against “elitism” and “gatekeepers” — terms that are vaguely defined but tap into the resentment many Canadians feel about a status quo that seems stacked against them. Ultimately, Poilievre’s politics are a mix of anti-establishment populism and classical liberalism.
These ideas have been conscientiously framed to appeal to people of all colors and creeds. For example, housing unaffordability is discussed as an issue that affects not only young people but new immigrants, too. In a similar spirit, Poilievre has promised to make it easier for immigrants to use their foreign education in the Canadian job market so that doctors don’t have to make a living driving Ubers. In Europe and the United States, conservative populism tends to use immigrants as a punching bag. In Canada, populists want immigrants to have good jobs so they can thrive like anyone else.
This inclusive version of right-wing populism is, in many ways, a product of Canada’s demographics. Twenty-two percent of Canada’s population is foreign-born, versus 14% in the U.S. New immigrants are concentrated in the suburbs of Canada’s largest cities, which are vital electoral battlegrounds. Winning these suburbs allowed former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to lead a Conservative government from 2006 to 2015, but he then resorted to policies that vilified Muslim communities, cratering his suburban support and paving the way for a generation of Liberal rule. Canadian conservatives have been trying to win back ethnic voters ever since.
Meanwhile, two of the nine parliamentarians in Poilievre’s leadership team are LGBT and take a moderate and commonsensical approach to these issues, showing that conservatives can credibly advocate gender and sexual minorities while avoiding the excesses seen among progressives. Social conservatives seem to be at peace with Poilievre, seeing him as neither an ally nor an enemy. Focusing on personal liberty creates opportunities to balance traditional and progressive values — let communities coexist through mutual noninterference.
By avoiding culture wars and focusing on the economy, Poilievre has begun assembling a formidable coalition. For the first time since the 1980s, a plurality (but not majority) of voters under 30 support the Conservatives. They seem to find his disruptive and blunt rhetoric about affordability refreshing and do not have to worry about if supporting him forsakes commonsense commitments to social inclusion and pluralism.
Poilievre also seems to be siphoning working-class supporters from the far-left New Democrats — voters who are exhausted with how progressive politicians cater to white-collar college graduates at the expense of kitchen table issues. The dynamic resembles how, in 2016, some American voters leaped from Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump. Poilievre has sometimes attacked important institutions in his pursuit of power, such as the Bank of Canada and the Supreme Court. However, these attacks are comparatively mild and seem to be abating now that Poilievre has consolidated power.
Whatever similarities exist between Poilievre and Trump are relatively minor. What is much more significant is how Poilievre has crafted a movement that forgoes much of the toxicity that is typically associated with conservative populism. Like Trump, Poilievre channels the rage of those who feel left behind, but rather than use that rage to stoke racial and religious tensions, he is using it to proselytize classical liberal values, such as the love of liberty and meritocracy.
If America’s conservative populists want to grow their appeal, especially among younger voters, they should take note. Canada’s demographics and political culture are distinct, but it never hurts to pilfer the best elements of another country’s political movements.
Adam Zivo is a Canadian columnist and policy analyst who relocated to Ukraine earlier this year to report on the Russia-Ukraine war. He is writing a book on how the war is experienced by average Ukrainians.
