It now appears the federal election will reflect and be determined by voters' perceptions of the values of the contesting parties. The Liberal Party's transition to Carney has mostly eliminated the strong anti-Trudeau animus, strengthening Liberal support. It also appears that NDP support has weakened, now favouring its joint venture partner for many years.Policies should come from a foundation of a belief system. Although, perhaps sadly, politicians often present themselves with policies inconsistent with their beliefs, we need to start somewhere. A deep understanding of the candidate’s values is helpful and could be determinative.Or should be. .As neither the Conservative or Liberal leaders has governed, we need to examine both their life experiences and words. The future of Canada, as this will illustrate, will be as different as are the candidates. This election will result in diverging outcomes for the future of Canada versus most historical shifts of power back and forth between the Liberals and the Conservatives.We need to dive deeply into the values of leaders and their parties and focus on past actions, versus current rhetoric. As the values of Poilievre and Carney are very different, this should ultimately be an easy decision. Both leaders grew up in Alberta from humble circumstances.Their paths thereafter speak loudly about their beliefs.This piece explains Pierre Poilievre; Mark Carney follows in Part II. .Born in 1979 to a 16 year old student, Poilievre was adopted by two schoolteachers, the husband a Fransaskois from Saskatchewan. His parents separated in his mid-teens, later his father “came out” as gay. Poilievre participated in sports growing up, and to earn some money was a paperboy for The Calgary Sun. With an early interest in politics and reading political books, Pierre Poilievre was influenced by Milton Friedman’s ‘Capitalism and Freedom’ — an important fact regarding his early and current beliefs.At the University of Calgary, Poilievre studied international relations and participated in student politics on behalf of the Reform Party, in conflict at the time with the Progressive Conservative Party over principles.As a student, he wrote in an essay contest about being prime minister — the title was ‘Building Canada Through Freedom’ — again indicative of his values. In 2002 he left university without a degree to work for Stockwell Day, the Leader of the Opposition in Ottawa, but later gained a Bachelor of Arts degree online from Athabasca University.His focus thereafter, back in Calgary and in Ottawa, was participation in getting elected. In 2006, he defeated then-Liberal defence minister David Pratt to win the riding of Nepean-Carlton, thus becoming a Parliamentarian at age 25, and characterized himself as one of the “libertarian” minded MPs.As the youngest MP, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Board responsible for the drafting and adoption of the Federal Accountability Act — likely an indication of his current accountability theme for the federal government. Further he was appointed to the ‘Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee’, also current interests.As a cabinet minister Poilievre served as Minister for Democratic Reform, followed by the Employment and Social Development portfolio.In the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, Poilievre won on the first ballot with almost 71% of the vote. He campaigned on themes of reducing the cost of living, and freedom, stating his desire to make Canada “the freest country in the world.”He favours the energy sector and sharing our bountiful resources with energy needy countries. He has vigorously opposed the consumer carbon tax and recently also added his opposition to carbon taxes at the industrial level. Poilievre has indicated he will ban his cabinet ministers from attending the World Economic Forum.A strong supporter of Israel and its right to defend itself, he also condemns the actions of Hamas and the recent hostilities initiated by it. His government will defund UNWRA.Socially, he supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage, the latter which he previously opposed. He is in support of transgender legislation, such as recent Alberta legislation. He is “only aware of two genders” and “we should have a government that just minds its own damn business” and will “butt out” of personal matters and leave people to make their own decisions.He is pro-immigration and favours speeding up processing times by engaging provinces to licence qualified professionals within 60 days of receiving applications. His recent statements suggest a more strategic approach with numbers driven by the capacity of health care, housing, and employment — simple common sense..Poilievre is married to an immigrant from Venezuela; they have two children. Thanks to his Fransaskois upbringing and his diligence in pursuing further lessons as an MP, he speaks fluent French.As much of the above was gleaned from Wikipedia, more detail is available to readers. From that source and personal observation, it is fair to describe Poilievre as a leader who is blunt, poses tough questions, and at times seen as an “attack dog”. He believes in freedom, including market choices and right to work laws, more financial accountability as evidenced by advocating the defunding of the CBC and firing the Governor of the Bank of Canada (although not a recent theme).In summary, the Leader of the Opposition has pledged smaller government, more respect for the constitutional responsibilities of the provinces, and less intrusion into the private views and actions of citizens. The under utilized description, classical liberal, best captures his value system, different from historical conservatives and today’s liberals.The next column will introduce Carney, also at one time an Albertan, who pursued a very different path with differing values.
