I wish this columnist could tell you new Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre Poilievre swashbuckled with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Parliament resumed, and Poilievre led the Conservative Party for the first time in Question Period..But it was not to be. Trudeau was in New York City at the United Nations General Assembly trying hard to look like a statesman after showing the world he’s not just a gifted blackface performer, but also a third-rate piano bar singer who can embarrass Canada on the eve of a state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II..But I digress..Poilievre came out fighting about his promise to oppose any new Liberal taxes — no matter what the Grits choose to call them — and got a feeble response from associate Minister of Finance and Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault.."Throughout the session, you will see two competing visions: Our plan as a government to support Canadians who needed the most and then the other option, the vision of the Conservative Party and members who don't care about Canadians," he said, reading the French talking points with practised finesse. In fact, he might have done it better than Trudeau..There's an electricity in the air of Parliament that rather reminds me of the Genesis days of the Reform Party arriving in the early 1990s. People are anticipating change and that Poilievre is the man who can do it..Interim CPC leader Candice Bergen did an excellent job of keeping the party together while the leadership rivals slugged it out, but she was ultimately only the forerunner of Poilievre, who seems both prepared and destined to be prime minister..When he and Trudeau fence on Thursday, it will be worth watching and you can bet Trudeau, truly intimidated by Poilievre, will access his usual bag of tricks, suggesting the Conservatives are led by a misogynistic, racist who does not understand the world will end in the next decade unless Canada continues to accelerate the carbon tax..The liberal media is sort of giving Poilievre a mini-honeymoon, apparently still in shock over Global News’ senior political correspondent David Akin’s meltdown at the Conservative leader’s first news conference, at which the veteran scribe swore repeatedly at Poilievre and demanded he start answering questions before he delivered his address..But that hasn’t stopped the usual polling from suggesting Trudeau is still the man most Canadians think should be prime minister..A Leger “poll” suggests Trudeau is favoured by 24% of Canadians and Poilievre by 21%. No, Jagmeet Singh did not scoop up the rest of the vote. So this is why you have to question the validity of this survey. It was an online poll, and online polls are about as accurate as asking people who enter their favorite restaurant to order a Trudeau burger, Poilievre burger or Singh burger..If Trudeau could actually garner 24% support in a real poll, he would be doing well..Look for the man with the coloured socks to be absent from his post as much as possible in the next few weeks as he contemplates a fall election. He will look for any excuse to avoid Poilievre in the House because he knows every exchange will only benefit his opponent and Trudeau is a lousy debater, even when he's thrown softball questions..One snide remark from Government House Leader Mark Holland about Poilievre’s future was really beyond the pale — even for a self-serving partisan like him. "If you know there’s a continuance of the circus, then you know we’ll have to see who will buy tickets. But I don’t think that’s what people want," he said..What does Holland think the Liberals have been running under Trudeau? It’s been a brutal Inquisition and lockdown state..Is that what he thinks the people want — or has he ever asked them?
