Is Pierre Poirievre also “in synchronization” with Donald Trump?

The most controversial declaration of the federal elections has so far been pronounced before even the campaign began, not by a federal politician, but the premier of Alberta.

In a interview Recorded on March 8 with an American media on the right, Danielle Smith said that, while there would always be disagreement, the conservative leader Pierre Poir Poiievre would be “very in tune with … the new direction in America” ​​and that Canada and the United States would have “had a great relationship” all the time that Poilevre and Donald Trump were in charge.

“If we have Pierre as our prime minister, then I think there are a series of things that we could do together,” said Smith. “Pierre believes in development, believes in low cost energy, he believes that we must have low taxes, he does not believe in any of the awakened things that we have seen taking control of our policy in the last five years.”

The liberals, for months, tried to connect and Trump to connect, both substantially and stylistically – Chrystia Freeland, for example, used the term “maple syrup” to describe the conservatives last autumn. And so Smith’s comments – which only came to the wider attention last weekend – were a gift for the government party.

Standed in front of Rideau Hall Sunday, Mark Carney said that the Canadians should decide “if they want a government that is unifying, defending Canada and is undertaking focused actions to build a better economy” or if they “want division and Americanism”.

“This is what Mr. Poilievre seems to offer,” said Carney. “Just approved by the premier of Alberta.”

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In the BC, the conservative leader Pierre Poirievre told Trump to “knock” with rates, a line that he regularly used on the countryside track.

Last month when Trump himself he said That then was not “sorceress” (referring to her make America Great Again Movement), Poiievre was fast to Note The comment. But the conservative leader has avoided offering a direct refutation of Smith’s analysis.

“People are free to do their comments”, he he said On Monday, before arguing that he would present the strongest answer to Trump’s threats.

Recently, a few months ago, any similarities between Poilevre and Trump may not be imported. At least did not seem that the The strong populism of the conservative leader And aggressive tactics were periphenting the possibilities of the conservative party to form the government.

But last Wednesday evening, a conservative strategist did the same confrontation as Smith, only this time as a lament.

“It looks too like Trump. It seems too similar to Trump. Use Trump’s lexicon,” Kory Tenaycke, who managed the campaign of the progressive conservative party of the Harvest at the beginning of this year, he told an audience in Toronto.

Canadian politicians accuse each other from importing “American -style” politics is not new. But to a certain extent, these federal elections actually concern the American president. And Trump is a very different type of political figure.

The similarities and differences

Like people, Trump and Poilievre have some obvious differences.

But 55 percent of interviewees to a recent survey by Abacus Data They said they thought that Poilievre would strongly or somehow support Trump in the last American presidential elections. And it is not difficult to see how the Canadians could have come to this conclusion (above and beyond simply by connecting the Canadian conservatives with the US Republicans).

“Trump and Poilievre are mainly similar when it comes to the populist nature of their communication styles,” says Emily Laxer, director of the Populism Observatory in Canada in the York University. “Both seek popularity and votes by framing politics as a battle with a zero sum between corrupt, selfish elites and a person who works hard and goods”.

Poirevre initially embraced The self -rescued “convoy of freedom” has promised to defeat the “gatekeeper” that apparently are hindering the Canadians who thrive. He said he would fire the governor of the Banca del Canada, dispose of the CBC and invoke the clause despite the corridor to overwrite the judicial judgments against his attempts to impose more hard phrases to those who are sentenced for having committed crimes.

One of the slogans of Poilievre – “Canada First” – echoes to Trump to put “the America First”. USA “Wakes up“As a pejorative for all uses and says it is on the side of”common sense. “Ha toy With conspiracy theories and said he would forbid his ministers to attend the World Economic Forum.

Postilvre thrives conflict and has attached The main media and accused them of being in the championship with the liberal government. He also took to describe liberal policies like “Wacko“(After being expelled from the Chamber of Municipalities for using that word to describe the Prime Minister).

As Laxer observes, Poilievre and Trump share a passion for derisive nicknames (“Fund Trust Trudeau”, “Sellout Singh”, “Carbon Tax Carney”). Stewart Perst, professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, notes that both Trump who promoted the idea of ​​national restoration.

(Poiievre also accused Justin Trudeau of pushing a “radical ideology“On the genre and previously has promised retain federal funding from universities that do not adequately support freedom of speech – two issues that animated republican policy in the United States.)

At the beginning of this campaign, then he seemed to want to recalibrate his public presentation. Sunday was, for example, considerably friendly with journalists. But he also accused the liberals of promoting a “radical, post-national ideology, without frontiers and globalist”.

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“I think that a way to think of the nucleus of similarity whether both naturally frame politics in terms that we could describe as a populist of center right”, says Perst. “And so they both swim in the same political sea if you want.”

There are anyway significant differences Between Poiievre and Trump.

Poiievre is not leading a native campaign against immigration, nor has he refused to recognize the results of the last elections or has incited a violent insurrection (although later he recently did request The turnout to the running to liberal leadership). He has not denied the reality of climate change, nor is he threatening to tear the free trade agreements of Canada or to abandon Ukraine.

The questions raised by Smith’s comments

Smith’s statement according to which Poilievre is “in synchronization” with “The new direction in America” ​​could raise some questions for the conservative leader.

While then he claimed that he would have presented the strongest response to Trump because liberal policies weakened the country, the liberals suggested that the similarities of Poilievre with Trump mean that he will not be able to resist the American president. And while then he underlined Trump’s statement that he would have preferred to negotiate with a liberal, Smith’s comments probably support the liberal vision.

On a large scale, Smith’s comments could raise the question if later it could be more open to a greater level of continuous integration with the United States than the liberals of Carney would not be – and the Two leaders’ comments this week suggest different opinions on this question.

Finally, there is the question of how Poiievre would govern and if he would have a similarity with the administration of Trump.

Eric Merkley, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, states that “while” there are some stylistic similarities between the Poilievre approach and the sorceress policy “, he thinks” Poiievre will almost certainly go as a rather normal conservative – if one more openly partisan than we could be used to. “

Where some Canadians could see a version of what Trump represents, perhaps others see a disintegrator who will use the status quo usefully.

On the other hand, even liberals are not the first to question the style of Poiievre. During the conservative leadership race of 2022, Jean Chast, the former Quebec premier, criticized the attacks of Poiievre at the Banca del Canada – and in doing this, he echoed the concerns that the former General Sheila Fraser had collected eight years earlier when Poilevre criticized the Chief Electoral Officer at the moment.

“We cannot afford to have a leader who goes there and deliberately threatens the trust in the institutions,” said Charest. “The conservatives don’t do it.”

Poirvre could be conceivably trying to explain exactly how it differs from Trump and what parts of Trumpism refuses. But part of the conservative voters could still feel positively towards Trump – 31 % of conservative supporters had a positive impression of the president when Abacus Data examined the Canadians in FebruaryAlthough David Coletto of Abacus says that the new survey that will be published this weekend will show that the number has dropped to 22 %.

In the end, then he could be judged with his own words, merits and records, regardless of the comparisons.

Six months ago, Poilievre seemed to ride a populist wave at the Prime Minister’s office. And while could still win power, at this moment that Wave is underestimated by the spectrum and reality of the most powerful populist in the world.