During a press conference on Thursday, Pierre Poilievre urged Canadians to be patriotic and proud.
Contrary to many federal politicians who've refused to promote Canadian patriotism out of fear of provoking anti-patriots in the cancel culture movement, the Conservative leader stressed how important it is to be "proud of our country and unapologetic about our history."
"We need to honour our past and our shared values," he continued. "We need to live out the dream that started with John A. Macdonald — yes, I said John A. Macdonald — who believed in an independent and sovereign Canada."
Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister and a key architect of Confederation, is a figure whose legacy is viewed with a mix of admiration and criticism. Macdonald is viewed by some as a hate-figure for policies involving indigenous people.
Poilievre made it clear he believed it was time Canadians stopped tearing down statues of those who built this country and start showing some appreciation, adding that this enthusiasm should be mirrored by new arrivals.
He said we need to "remind people who come here that when they're given a Canadian flag and land on Canadian soil, that it's the greatest gift on earth, and that they should be proud to be part of the Canadian family."
Poilievre also called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to trigger an election immediately, and argued that no matter the Liberals choose to run, they're all the same.
"Liberal MPs want to elect another Justin Trudeau who has a different face," he said. "They're all Justin Trudeau; they're all just like Justin."
He went on to warn that, "in the next election, I will be running against Justin Trudeau, whether his name is Justin Trudeau, or Chrystia Freeland, or Carbon Tax Carney, or Carbon Tax Clark."
"They supported everything he's done," Poilievre added, "and they promise to keep doing it. If they say otherwise, we know they're lying, because they would have done so earlier."
When asked why, amongst everything else going on at the moment, he still focused the election around the carbon tax, Poilievre said it was central to all Canada's problems.
He noted that increasing the carbon tax could cause an exodus of Canadian companies to the United States, "the only person that would like the Canadian carbon tax to go to 61 cents per litre more than the NDP-Liberals is President Trump."
