Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre faced a tough test but maintained his front-runner position as the big fish in a small pond during the Battle River–Crowfoot by-election forum on Tuesday night.The debate, held at the Jeanne & Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre’s Cargill Theatre in Camrose, and moderated by Shauna Feth — President and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce — drew an enthusiastic crowd eager to hear from ten of the riding’s candidates.The by-election has attracted national attention, in part due to the Longest Ballot Committee, an electoral reform group that registered 209 candidates — many of them backed by the same agent — in an effort to challenge Poilievre’s run, as had previously happened in the last federal election.The Conservative Party leader played up his front-runner status right from the get-go, as he was the first candidate to stand up while delivering his opening statement, which was met with thunderous applause from the audience..Elections Canada announces change to Battle River–Crowfoot byelection ballot as number of candidates surpasses 200.He opened with an appeal to “faith, family, and freedom,” positioning himself as the only candidate with the national influence to deliver for the region.“I want to take the local issues and provide national leadership,” he said.He pledged to cut immigration, slash bureaucracy, and fight what he called the Liberal government’s “post-national ideology.”“We need to have negative population growth for several years,” Poilievre said. “Let’s produce more homes and energy instead of adding more people and more government.”Immigration and affordability were central themes brought up by several candidates throughout the night. United Party of Canada candidate Grant Abraham accused Poilievre of ignoring the link between high immigration and housing prices.“Our kids can’t get jobs because new immigrants are subsidized in entry-level positions,” Abraham said, calling for immigration caps and the repatriation of Canadian industry.“We need to repatriate our industrial base to this country. We need to incentivize entrepreneurship again, and we need to stop the flight of funds out of this country,” he said.“The problem is that our people are leaving this country because we have deeper problems that we never talk about in this nation.”.Tory MP to step aside, paving way for Poilievre to run in Battle River—Crowfoot byelection.Poilievre admitted that there needs to be a cutback on immigration and criticized the current Liberal government’s “post-nationalist” policies, including the Century Initiative to triple Canada’s population, which he claimed favours globalist interests and corporations at the expense of Canadians.People’s Party of Canada (PPC) candidate Jonathan Bridges echoed these sentiments, while independent Bonnie Critchley slammed what she called government “bloat” and wasteful spending, citing third-party contracts like Veterans Affairs’ “contracting care of veterans out to Loblaws.”“We need to trim the fat, not just the teeth,” Critchley said, arguing that curbing wasteful spending would pave the way for tax reductions and better job opportunities for Albertans.On local representation, Critchley demanded candidates live in the riding, saying, “you don’t know what’s going on here unless you live here.”Poilievre admitted that while he doesn’t reside in the riding, his profile is a trade-off that could bring national attention to local issues in the region, such as fixing the prison in Drumheller and protecting firearms rights.Health care also divided candidates. Poilievre blamed population growth for straining services and called for capping immigration, cutting red tape for foreign-trained doctors, and growing the economy to boost health transfers..Poilievre absence sparks frustration at Battle River–Crowfoot candidate forum.NDP candidate Katherine Swampy went on the offensive, accusing Poilievre of supporting past Conservative cuts, touting her party’s push for dental care, diabetes medication, and free contraception.“6.5 million Canadians don't have a doctor, and the problem is only getting worse, and when Pierre Poilievre was in government with Stephen Harper, he cut $43.5 billion in health care transfers,” she said.The debate then saw candidates weigh in on the “longest ballot” controversy that has sparked massive debate in the riding.Poilievre dismissed the tactic as a “total scam” aimed at undermining his campaign.“I think anybody should be allowed to run, but they should have to get unique signatures, and they should have a unique financial agent. If you did that, you'd guarantee this would never happen again,” he said.Independent candidate Sarah Spanier called for healthy protest but expressed frustration with the current approach.“They’ve kind of hindered us here,” she said.“I do agree that we should have electoral reform… but we’re Albertans, we’re tough,” she said.NDP candidate Katherine Swampy weighed in, saying the movement’s persistence is already making an impact.“The fact that everybody here is talking about electoral reform means their form of protest is working… They are targeting Pierre because they know it’s going to cause an uprising,” she said.“They want people to speak out about it.”.WATCH LIVE: Battle River–Crowfoot by-election candidate forum.Next, on the topic of education, Poilievre argued that young Canadians are being left behind.“A generation of youth has been totally screwed — like never before,” he said.“Start with wages, the government’s bringing in unprecedented numbers of low-wage temporary foreign workers who are taking the retail and restaurant jobs that normally help students pay tuition.“That has to stop. Our universities also aren’t equipping people with the right skills.”He referenced his time as a student at the University of Calgary, saying it was “great,” but that Canada needs more emphasis on the trades and “on people who can make stuff, fix stuff, and move stuff.”Libertarian Party candidate Michael Harris, who is currently a student at the U of C, put the blame squarely on provincial leadership.“The education issues in Alberta stem from our premier and the provincial government. We need more support for students, not administrators pocketing massive bonuses while students struggle to pay for school.”He went on to say society has pushed a false narrative that you need a degree to succeed, “while the best-paying jobs in this province are in the trades.”.In his closing remarks, Poilievre called the forum “a great debate,” adding that it had been “great fun.”“My mission is to give national leadership to local issues,” he said. “Whether it’s reforming our prisons in Drumheller or fighting unfair tariffs, these local issues demand national leadership, and it would be the privilege of my life to deliver that.”With over 84,000 voters across the gigantic, rural riding, Poilievre remains the overwhelming favourite to win the election on Aug. 18.The forum did, however, make clear that discontent over topics such as immigration, health care, and federal spending will be shaping the debate well beyond Battle River–Crowfoot for the foreseeable future.
