Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre kicked off a four-day tour of Vancouver Island in Greater Victoria on Tuesday with a “boots not suits” approach to appeal to “ordinary” workers.
Poilievre visited Wilson’s Group, a locally owned and operated charter bus company serving Vancouver Island, and Shockwave, which makes marine suspension seating in Sidney.
“I think workers have really been abandoned by the [federal] NDP; the inflation that federal government taxes and deficits has caused has hit workers hard, their paycheques are being chewed up by inflation,” Poilievre said in an interview.
“Meanwhile, the housing costs have doubled under the NDP-Liberals which means that working people can’t afford a home. B.C. now has the most expensive housing prices in the world. … You have so much land, it doesn’t make any sense.”
The Conservative leader says his plan is to “axe the carbon tax,” fix the budget, bring down inflation and interest rates and income tax, and “clear bureaurcracy” to build homes.
“That’s a message that is resonating on shop floors across Canada,” said Poilievre.
His party has released new TV advertisements showing workers rising before dawn and working into the night, in an attempt to win the labour vote.
In reaction, the Canadian Labour Congress, the largest labour organization in Canada, said on Monday that Poilievre had served in a Conservative government that cut health care, imposed austerity on everyday people, introduced anti-labour laws and helped rich corporations pay even less in taxes.
Congress president Bea Bruske said the party has an anti-worker track record and history of cutting health care.
“Pierre Poilievre has used populist rhetoric to hide away his real agenda,” she said.
“But his long track record of attacking workers’ rights and siding with profitable corporations over everyday people makes clear the kind of leader he would be if he gained power.”
Bruske said while Poilievre talks loudly about inflation, he cannot be counted on to push companies to increase workers’ pay to keep up with inflation and that “greedflation” by large corporations — taking advantage of inflation to raise prices — is helping to drive up the cost of living.
Sean Gerrett, director of sales for Shockwave, a business started in 1981 in Sidney generating about $15 million a year in sales, said the company was asked to host Poilievre’s visit. Out of respect for the man who could be the next prime minister, to hear his speech, and for the company’s own marketing, the company agreed but allowed any employees who didn’t want to be involved to bow out.
A healthy crowd attended but “several of our employees exercised that option and so be it,” said Gerrett.
Gerrett said his company has highly specialized workers producing thousands of commercial shock-resistant custom seats for high-speed boats.
He said he would be open to host any federal party that wanted to share their platform: “Knowledge is power.”
Having listened to Poilievre, Gerrett said he prefers to hear less criticism of the current state of affairs and fewer easy answers or fixes to complex problems.
“I hope voters do their homework and dig into these issues,” said Gerrett. “I prefer to hear how you’re going to fix things rather than just ‘everything is broken.’ ”
The Conservatives’ call for a “common-sense approach boils it down to being simple. I wish it was, but it’s not.”
Asked about the BC United and B.C. Conservative merger, Poilievre said it’s an indication that “British Columbians are horrified with the out of control costs, crime and chaos that the NDP-Liberals have caused.”
Poilievre plans to visit Duncan and Nanaimo Wednesday with more stops at manufacturing companies’ shop floors.
