Inflation-focused Pierre Poilievre back to Parliament as health-care talks loom
It's no secret what Pierre Poilievre thinks about government spending and inflation.
Same with guns.
But what does the Conservative leader think should happen when premiers ask for billions more in federal health-care dollars?
With a deal under negotiation between Ottawa and provinces, and premiers invited to a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early February, the issue remains one where the Tory leader's position appears somewhat murky, including to some inside his own party.
Such is where Poilievre finds himself as he enters his second sitting inside the House of Commons as Opposition leader, knowing he must grow the Conservative tent if he hopes to win the next election, whenever it rolls around.
Strategists say a clear opportunity exists for the Conservative leader by way of worries about a possible recession this year, which is fuelling Canadians' existing economic anxieties
Talk of what the year may bring for the economy was on the minds of Conservatives as they met Saturday to discuss priorities for the months ahead given the House of Commons' return next week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with his Liberal caucus the same day.
Poilievre regularly talks about the financial crunch Canadians are in, whether in struggling to afford a house and make mortgage payments or dealing with costly grocery bills and relying on food banks.
However, if his eye is turned to convincing those who may be skeptical about a Poilievre-led government, he would be wise to broaden his script beyond sticking to a sharp affordability message, said Shakir Chambers, a former adviser to provincial and federal conservative governments.
"We get the economy matters … but as leader of the country, you have to be able to talk about a lot more things."
In a press conference with reporters this week -- an event that has become more frequent on Parliament Hill -- Poilievre fielded questions on the matter of increased health-care spending and the role of privatization.
Besides pointing out that private delivery of services already exists in the country, he said his priorities for health care include shortening wait times and getting provinces to more quickly approve the foreign credentials of immigrants to deal with staffing shortages.
Nova Scotia MP Stephen Ellis, who is a doctor, said Saturday the country is in economic trouble and there are big regional differences between provinces when it comes to health-care needs.
"So continuing to look at this as something (to) continue to throw money at ... is something that we need to understand that we need to be fiscally conservative as Canadians," he said. "I think many of us are that at heart."
"All we're having is more big government, this top down approach, this federalist approach to say that, 'You must do this, or you must do that," he added. "That's not going to work.
For Melanie Paradis, a veteran of conservative campaigns including that of former Tory leader and Ontario MP Erin O'Toole, health care and affordability are top priorities for Canadians.
"There has to be a conservative solution for big things, like health care," she said.
Another issue set to emerge over the months ahead is the Liberals' long-awaited legislation about creating jobs in low-carbon industries in an effort to reach net-zero emissions, dubbed its "just transition" plan.
While Poilievre has vowed to cancel the federal consumer carbon price and instead reduce emissions through technologies, Conservatives have not yet spelled out what that would look like.On Saturday, Quebec MP Gerard Deltell, the party's environment critic, said a plan will be ready for an election.
One challenge strategists agree exists for Poilievre is pacing. While he does not want to roll out policy promises too early while an election may be off in the distance, he must also begin filling in the blanks for Canadians to know what to expect from him.
Paradis says Poilievre appears to have begun that work. This week, he released a video of him speaking compassionately about those with autism and other forms of neurodiversity and announced plans to share more resource revenue with First Nations
The Conservative caucus heard from a panel of First Nations tax and business leaders Saturday, which followed presentations from economists the day before.
Chambers said the challenge for the leader will be sustaining the momentum he captured during last year's leadership race, where he sold more than 300,000 memberships and often attracted crowds by hundreds and at times, thousands.
Since becoming leader, Poilievre has made a habit of spending many weekends on the road. He's visited both the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, both regions where Conservatives have struggled to grow support in recent elections. He has also met with members of different immigrant and racialized communities during the campaign-like stops -- another demographic Tories have struggled to connect with.
Laryssa Waler, a former director of communications for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, says Canada is facing no shortage of challenges, from the economy to health care, and rejects the premise it should be up to Poilievre to provide solutions.
"Pierre's job is to be the leader of the Opposition and that does not include bringing forward government policy about interprovincial monetary transfers," she said. "Your job is to highlight the problem."
One way Poilievre is trying to do that is with the message "everything feels broken." He repeated that in a speech before caucus Friday in which he listed off areas he feels Trudeau is failing to act, ranging from crime to housing prices.
Chris Chapin, who has worked on past leadership campaigns for Ontario Progressive Conservative candidates, says Poilievre's message is evocative, adding he can see why it's being used to lay the groundwork for whenever the next election is called.
He says while convincing people the country is broken is one thing, getting them to believe Poilievre is the one to fix it is another.
Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu said Saturday she sees excitement for Poilievre within caucus and beyond, adding she believes his message is resonating with Canadians.
Come next week, she said Conservatives see the top issue being the cost of living.
"I think the health-care system is another legitimate issue," she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Golf season a summer tourism driver in Canada
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.