'Who is the real Pierre Poilievre?' NDP launch attack ad against new Conservative leader

Tom Mulcair reacts to new polling Tom Mulcair reacts to polling showing support for the CPC is rising, but Justin Trudeau remains the preferred prime minister.

OTTAWA — The NDP is the first party out of the gate with an attack ad against Pierre Poilievre, launching the attempt to frame the new Conservative leader as “not in it for you” just as the fall sitting of Parliament gets underway.

The ad, sent Tuesday to party donors and set to roll out on social media on Tuesday, asks: “Who is the real Pierre Poilievre?” while showing the Conservative leader in his now trademark pensive pose made famous in his own ads for the Conservative leadership.

The 30-second video goes on to contrast the Conservative leader’s assertion that he’s fighting for everyday Canadians with his voting record.

The video claims Poilievre is a “friend of big business and the corporate elite,” adding that the new leader of the Official Opposition has “received big contributions from those who have profited off the housing crisis.”

Director of communications for the NDP, Melanie Richer, told CTV News the ad is an effort to prevent Poilievre from re-framing himself as the leader who is standing up for working-class Canadians. At the height of an affordability crisis, it’s a position the NDP have historically played, but is now the brass ring all parties are appear to be reaching for.

The ad ends by saying Poilievre has voted against having a federal minimum wage twice.

“If the election is ‘anybody but Trudeau’ we believe we can beat him (Poilievre) on fighting for people,” said Richer.

CTV News has reached out to Poilievre's office for comment.