It wasn’t quite Woodstock, but Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre brought some clear star power to Calgary on Friday in the waning days of the federal election campaign.
The atmosphere inside a near packed aircraft hangar at YYC was electric as Poilievre strode to a centrally located podium to the strains of The Log Drivers Waltz and alternatively, Raise a Little Hell and even Echo Beach by Canadian classic rock icons Trooper and Martha and the Muffins.
To chants of ‘bring it home’ a 4,000-strong crowd gave their hometown hero a welcome befitting a rock star as a bag piper played outside and scores of police were on hand to guide traffic and keep rowdies in line.
Perhaps no surprise, there were no protests and the crowd, although boisterous, was peaceful and contained — yet enthusiastic, in the way a rock star like Mick Jagger would be received.
And indeed, it was a scripted event with choreographed visuals thrown in for effect. But what was billed as a last minute photo-op essentially turned into a full-blown rally.
In a speech marred by booming, echoing audio, the Conservative leader riffed on the common themes of his campaign using every slogan and rhetorical lick echoed through the campaign: ‘axe the tax’ ‘build the homes’ ‘pave the streets’ — the entire crowd was clearly on the same song sheet.
Promising to use the Notwithstanding Clause to lock violent criminals away for life, Poilievre also said he’d show compassion for drug addicts by offering treatment.
Canada would become economically self sufficient from the US, he added, blaming the Liberal government for making Canada vulnerable to the tariff threat from the US.
To the roar of the crowd, he said that meant fast tracking energy and infrastructure projects like pipelines. He also said he’d shave hundreds of thousands off the price of a house by cutting taxes and fees that prevent young people from affording a home.
And he vowed to give police and the military power to protect them.
It comes in the waning days of an election campaign that is increasingly too close to call.
The latest Canada338 modelling put the Conservatives at 38% compared to the Liberals’ 42%, within the margin of error. But it also showed the Liberals sliding from majority territory, where they’ve been through most of the race.
If the election would have been held on Thursday, the Liberals would have a slim majority of 186 seats to the Conservatives’ 125 — with the difference being the collapse of the NDP to just seven seats.
That makes the final days of campaigning even more important for all parties.
After his brief appearance in Calgary — the only one of the campaign — Poilievre heads to Saskatoon tonight, Vancouver tomorrow before wrapping up the campaign in Southern Ontario on Sunday.