Federal Conservative leader hosts rally in Nanaimo

At the rally, Poilievre spoke about taxes, guns, agriculture, housing, and crime, among other subjects. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada made an appearance in Nanaimo yesterday April 1st. 

At a rally at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Poilievre called for an end to the federal carbon tax and other promises a conservative government would enact if elected.

His visit comes on the same day an increase to the federal carbon tax was made on the first of April. British Columbians saw the carbon tax rise from $65 to $80 per tonne to align with the federally coordinated nation-wide carbon price. In BC the carbon tax was first implemented in 2008 under the provincial Liberal government.

The federal tax was put in place by the current Liberal government in 2019 as a way to create financial incentives for people and businesses to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.

Poilierve said he would end the tax if elected.

The rally also featured Aaron Gunn, the Conservative candidate for the federal riding of North Island – Powell River, and Tamara Kronis who is the Conservative candidate for the riding of Nanaimo – Ladysmith. The Federal NDP currently holds both ridings.  

In the 2021 federal election, Kronis lost to NDP candidate Lisa Marie Barron by just shy of 1,200 votes. 

Kronis spoke at the rally about Poilievre.

“Our leader Pierre Poilievre is a true conservative, a free market advocate and a proud Canadian. His vision is clear. We are going to restore people's confidence in Canada,” Kronis said. “We are going to complete Canadians that are in charge of their own lives because hard work matters and it should pay off and count for something.”

At the rally, Poilievre spoke about taxes, guns, agriculture, housing, and crime, among other subjects.

He said if elected, the Conservatives would better support Canadian oil and gas by ending the carbon tax and making other changes to legislation.

“We’re going to repeal Trudeau’s anti-development and unconstitutional bill C-69. We’re going to grant rapid permits to natural gas, we’re going to cool that gas down to -160°C, put it on a ship to Asia to shut down dirty coal fire over there, send it off to Europe to break European dependence on Putin and turn dollars for dictators into paychecks for our people,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre said he would get rid of the controversial ArriveCAN app that can currently be used for customs and immigration declaration when flying into one of the participating Canadian airports. The app is estimated to have cost almost $60 million.

“Was your NDP MP sleeping that day when he or she voted to give $60 million to an $80,000 app,” he said. “You have to be out cold to vote $60 million bucks for something supposed to cost $80 grand.“ 

The biggest cheers from the night came when he announced that if elected he would keep calling on the provinces to end provincial vaccine mandates and to pass a private members bill to ban the federal government from creating more COVID-19 vaccine mandates.  

In BC, currently, only some public service workplaces still require vaccination, this includes hospitals and health care centers.

Poilievre announced that if elected he would make a blue seal program similar to the Red Seal program where someone in the trades can have their certification accepted across the country. The blue seal program would make it easier for foreign medical workers to have their certification accepted in Canada. 

“I’m going to bring in a blue seal so those who have trained abroad, they can take a test to prove they are qualified and get to work in our hospitals and serving our patients,” he said.

Poilievre said the Liberals and NDP subscribe to a radical ideology that seeks to control every aspect of Canadian life.

“They want to control your speech, your kids, your land, your livelihood,” he said. “Everything has to be in their control and under their thumb, that puts them on top and you on the bottom.”

To do so Poilievre said, if elected he would repeal Bill C-11 also known as the Online Streaming Act and other laws he describes as censorship laws.

The rally met with a protest outside the conference centre by a local pro-Palestine group that spoke against Poilievre and his position on the Palestinian-Israel conflict. In video footage posted to social media after the rally, the protestors were prevented from attending the rally and stopped at the door by security and RCMP.

The next federal election will take place on or before October 20, 2025.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.