Pierre Poilievre’s defeat in his long-held riding of Carleton after more than two decades is a delay, not a defeat, the Conservative party leader told OMNI News on Tuesday, ahead of his by-election in August.
“I was saddened because I believe I could be doing so much good right now if we had won the election. We had such a great platform, and I was looking forward to doing those things. But I see it as not a defeat but a delay,” Poilievre said.
The Conservative leader hopes to secure a return to Parliament in the by-election of Battle River–Crowfoot, an Alberta riding that overwhelmingly voted Conservative in the March federal election. The by-election is slated for Aug. 18, after former Conservative MP Damien Kurek resigned his seat in June to give Poilievre a chance to run.
Poilievre spoke directly to voters and constituents on why he should return to Parliament.
“One, to hold the government to account, which is the main job of the official opposition — hold them to account on the rising costs of living, crime, housing and other failures that they have caused,” Poilievre said.
“The second is to provide a hopeful government in waiting that will give people back control of their lives.”
Poilievre referred to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s performance as “disappointing,” adding he hasn’t been impressed by Carney’s responses to trade negotiations, crime, affordability, and spending.
“He made a lot of big promises. He was going to have elbows up against President Trump, but really, he’s put his elbows down,” Poilievre said.
“He hasn’t taken any immediate action on crime or drugs, or getting more homes built. On a lot of fronts, the people had very high expectations; he raised those expectations as did the mainstream media, but I don’t think he’s fulfilled them.”
On immigration, Poilievre said the Liberals have ruined Canada’s immigration system and vowed to crack down on what he called “abuse” in the international student and temporary foreign workers programs.
“What we need to do is get rid of the abuse in the international student program, temporary foreign workers program, the false refugee claims, that has to end.”
Poilievre said Canada needs to cap immigration entries at the levels of housing.
“Over the last several years, the population has been growing too fast. 1.2 million people a year is not sustainable when we’re adding a couple thousand homes,” Poilievre said.
“We need to cap entries at a level, so we always add houses, jobs and doctors faster than we add to our population.”
Poilievre is advocating for a national program that would allow internationally trained professionals, such as doctors and nurses, to work across all provinces and territories in Canada.
The “Blue Seal” would create a national testing standard to quickly license professionals. A red seal for trade-skilled workers has already been implemented in Canada, making it possible for internationally trained professionals to receive a certificate and work in the country.
“This is a high standard, it’s the Canadian standard, which is tested, and if someone gets that blue seal, then they get a certificate that says they’re a qualified Canadian physician, architect, nurse, etc., and they can take it anywhere in Canada and work,” Poilievre said.
With files from Rhea Santos, OMNI News
