Pierre Poilievre has campaigned for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership with a general theme of “freedom”. He has been opposed by many traditional elites, and accused of selling pink clouds and unrealistic dreams. The established opinion makers claim his message is too simple and not grounded in the real world. However, many conservatives see through the media negativity, and understand at a visceral level, that Pierre is on the right track. So much so, that he is going to be elected as leader of the CPC on September 10th. Conservatives will love the outcome, but the Laurentian elites and the Liberal-NDP strategists will soon manufacture a torrent of anti-Poilievre and anti-Conservative smears. It is all so predictable. .But back to the main broad theme of “freedom”. It is the correct wise policy prescription for what is hurting Canada. It will take awhile for a CPC government to fix the hundreds of items that collectively work against Canadians, from changes to basic federal law, to social policy assumptions, and accountable policy outcomes. .Moreover, there is a preponderance of solid academic research that validates the wisdom of the general theme of “freedom” for the next government. In an August 18th press release, Robert A. Lawson says that according to a wide-ranging literature review, economic freedom helps produce faster economic growth, higher living standards, and more happiness..Lawson said, “In the academic world, there’s a growing consensus that increased economic freedom correlates with positive outcomes for people in countries around the world”. Robert A. Lawson is a professor of economics and author of Economic Freedom in the Literature—What Is It Good (Bad) For?.The review examined 721 empirical papers (published between 1996 and 2022) using the Economic Freedom of the World index, which measures economic freedom—the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions—by analyzing the policies and institutions of jurisdictions and assessing indicators such as regulation, size of government, property rights, government spending, and taxation. Only one out of 20 papers reported a bad outcome. "When free to do so, individuals and families—not crony elites or over-powerful governments—make the best decisions for themselves," said Lawson..The press release summarizes by asserting that:.The majority of studies found economic freedom was related to reduced conflict, wars, civil unrest and terrorist attacks. Economic freedom also contributed to increased entrepreneurship and innovation, stronger economic growth, improved human rights and social development, boosted income and productivity, improved labour market outcomes including reduced unemployment and increased wages and participation. The resounding conclusion is that “Personal choice, voluntary exchange and open markets remain the cornerstones of economic freedom, which is key to prosperity worldwide,” said Lawson..Poilievre’s intellectual humility to examine the broad data and admit what works, regardless of what “the betters” claim, is the political commitment and prescription that Canada needs. We can't wait to say "goodbye" to the Liberal-NDP unproductive and hurtful policy ideologies.
