The Ben Mulroney Show - Will Pierre Poilievre become the next Prime Minister of Canada?

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Will Pierre Poilievre become the next Prime Minister of Canada? with Guest: Anthony Koch, Managing Principal at AK Strategies and former National Campaign Spokesperson for Pierre Poilievre If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Samsung Galaxy. Ever captured a great night video only for it to be ruined by that one noisy talker? With audio erase on the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, you can reduce or remove unwanted noise and relive your favorite moments without the distractions. And that's not all. New Galaxy AI features like NowBrief will give you personalized insights based on your day schedule so that you're prepared no matter what. Buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra now at Samsung.com. Welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show on this Monday, the first Monday of the election campaign.

And boy have the leaders come out swinging. I saw Mark Carney, the liberal leader's campaign kickoff in out east, where I think the liberals are trying to shore up what they thought was at one point, Fortress Liberal on the Atlantic coast. Now it looks like it's up for grabs, but I was in attendance at yesterday's GTA Pierre Poliev kickoff, I mean, he kicked off earlier in the day, but this is this was him coming to the GTA. There were thousands of people waiting to get into the room. I don't know how many got in. Was it 1,500? Was

it 2,000? I don't know. I know that hundreds were sent away because they were at capacity and he came out swinging right out of the gate. This morning, he announced that a new conservative government will cut income taxes by 15% for the average Canadian, a tax cut for seniors and workers that will save a family almost $2,000. That is a quote from a tweet by conservative leader Pierre Poliev. The National Post sort of breaks it down,

saying that the lowest income tax bracket is gonna save about $1,800 annually. And the conservative plan to lower the bottom income tax bracket from 15% to 12.75% would save, on average, about $900. And Poliev went on to say that they would pay for this tax cut by cutting waste, eliminating bureaucracy and consultants and bringing in a rule that any new spending needs to be offset

by spending cuts of the same size. So there's some separation, perhaps, between the conservatives and the liberals, despite in my humble estimation, what the liberals have been trying to do, which is horn in on conservative policies. Everything from removing the GST from homes under a million dollars, to the carbon tax, to the capital gains, inclusion rate, you name it. If it's a policy that they think is going to get them elected, they might take a look at stealing it. So, Pierre Poliev at this rally last night, I'll give you my assessment of that in a few minutes,

he got up in front of a very enthusiastic crowd. And here's what he said by hearing from people about the country and this election. You ask about the concerns of people on the street. What I hear from people on the street is they are concerned that after the lost liberal decade they can't afford homes. They're eating at food banks or cutting back on nutrition.

They're worried about crime, chaos, drugs and disorder. And they're worried that Canada and our economy is now more dependent than ever on the Americans after the Liberals blocked pipelines, stopped resource development, and gave America our resources at a discount. And what I say to those people is that change is on the way. We're going to put Canada first. We're going to ask taxes, unleash home building, produce our resources here in Canada, and export them overseas by going around the Americans,

so that we can take back control of our economy and our national destiny. It's an ambitious take on what Canada can be. And I've said before, you know that I have said and believe that Pierre Poliev has earned my vote. He might not have earned yours. Maybe he'll do it over the course of this election campaign. But I've seen enough over the past 10 years to say that the party, in my estimation, unless something changes over the next few weeks, they have disqualified themselves from running

this country for a significant amount of time. And Pierre Poliev has offered to me a hopeful alternative, and I heard it right there. He continued when he talked about law, the law crime, law and order, and crime and bail in this country. We will also bring home safety to our communities by stopping the crime for a change. That means repealing catch and release liberal laws and imposing mandatory jail time on repeat offenders, banning hard drugs, and offering recovery to bring our loved ones home drug free. We'll cap immigration and stop the radical century initiative,

which seeks to almost triple our population to 100 million people, a crazy idea still endorsed by liberals and their top advisors. That will end when I am prime minister. We will also keep fraudsters and criminals out of our country and we will crack down on bogus claims. On immigration, like everything else, we will put Canada first for a change. So it feels to me that what the liberals are trying to do in this election is keep everybody's attention on Donald Trump in the Through the windshield so that they don't look back on the last ten years The problem with that as I see it as a tactic and strategy is that there are people who have been affected negatively?

because of the policies that the liberal government has put in place over the past ten years and if you keep people looking in the windshield towards Donald Trump, you are ignoring the plight of the people who have suffered. And Pierre Pauli have addressed the Canadians who are struggling. He addressed the people that the Liberals would rather leave in the rearview mirror. To the struggling single mother who worries how she will feed her kids, hope is on the way. To the 35 year old still living in mom's basement but dreaming of owning his own place and starting a family,

change is on the way. To the seniors choosing between eating and heating. And to all those who wonder what happened to the country that they knew and love, change and hope are both on the way. A new Conservative government will restore Canada's promise, the promise that anyone from anywhere can do anything, that hard work gets you a great life in a beautiful home, on a safe street under a proud flag to preserve that flag and uphold its promise. We must work together, fight together and win together for our

people, for our land, for our home, for Canada first, for a change. Yeah, I mean, I co-sign that. I'm not afraid to say it. I'm not embarrassed to say it. That is hopeful. But just because it's hopeful doesn't mean... In order for it to be hopeful, you need to acknowledge the damage that has been done. And this is a vision for the future, while recognizing that there are people that need to be helped who have been damaged and hurt and impoverished and put in danger over the past 10 years. This is someone looking forward, also recognizing that there are people who've been left behind.

Now, a lot of people have been trying to make a story over the past week about allowing the media on the conservative plane, as if to say that Pierre Poliev is afraid of the press. Well, I've got a couple of clips for you about him taking on tough questions. Here's the CBC asking Poliev if he respects Donald Trump. I respect the office of the President of the United States and we have to show respect to other world leaders.

The bottom line is the Americans buy 75% of our goods. So whoever is the Prime Minister is going to have to at some point deal with President Trump. He was only elected a short time ago. He's going to be around for four more years. I will insist that the president recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist that he stop terrifying our nation. And at the same time, I will strengthen our

country so that we can be capable of standing our own two feet above the ground. I will insist that the president recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada.

I will insist that he stop terrifying our nation. And at the same time, I will strengthen our country so that we can be capable of standing our own two feet and standing up to the Americans where and when necessary. There are a lot of members of the press who are going to try to keep beating the drum that the liberals want them to beat that for some reason, somehow, Pierre Poliev is a bootlicker to Donald Trump. I didn't hear any of that there. I trust my eyes and my ears, and I didn't hear any of that. Here was another question that was attempted, an attempt at a gotcha question, and rather than skirt it or insult the person who asked the question, he answered it. This one about security clearance. Well, I've already had clearance, I was a minister in cabinet already,

and the government has the ability to give me any information they think necessary. But what I'm not gonna do is go into a process, a politically directed process by the liberals that they use to decide what I can see and say and comment on. And we know that theals have made Canada a playground to foreign interference they're the ones that have benefited from foreign

interference and we also call on the government to have the foreign agent registry set up for this election so that Canadians know if every for foreigner hostile regimes are intervening. I see there you go they tried to get him and he answered the question. Listen, if I have to pick, and it seems like I do have to pick, between a guy who doesn't travel with the press but answers questions from the press and a guy who does travel with the press and barely answers questions from the press, I'm taking the guy who talks to the press and is unafraid to talk to them.

All right, we want to set the table for the election. This is a consequential election, to say the least. A lot is at stake. And so we want to give each major party the attention they deserve on this, the first full day of the election campaign. We're going to start with the conservative side of the equation. And for that, we're joined by Anthony Kosh, managing principal at AK Strategies, former national campaign spokesperson for Pierre Polly of Anthony National Campaign Spokesperson for Pierre Poli.

Anthony, welcome back. Thanks for having me on. Okay, so what did you think? And I want you to be as honest as you can. If there are criticisms to give, I want to hear them from you as well. I think our listeners will appreciate more than just the raw raw stuff

that sometimes comes out of people on one side versus the other. What did you think of Pierre's launch yesterday? I think he showed a lot of momentum and I think he hit the right note. And I think it was interesting. I know a lot of people made comments to that effect, but greeting journalists, wishing them good morning, you know, emphasizing that, yeah, things are tough in Canada, but I think putting a much more emphasis on the fact that this thing can still be turned around. We can still restore the promise of Canada after a lost liberal decade to borrow some of his verbiage. But I mean, I think it speaks for itself beyond the actual

announcement event, I guess you could say that the launch that happened in the morning in Ottawa, I think his rally in North York was the most impressive component of yesterday. I was there. I was there. I was there in the crowd. Yeah, so you lived it. 2,500 people crammed in a room. And I think the only criticism that I'd have of that was the fact that hundreds of people had to be turned away after waiting in line

for several hours because they significantly underestimated how many folks were showing up. Yeah, and it was a cross-section of people. It really was, it was multicultural, it was diverse, it was men, women, old and young. It was really quite-section of people. It really was. It was multicultural. It was diverse. It was men, women, old and young. It was really quite something to see. And when I was speaking to the people in the crowd as they were coming up to shake my hand,

there was, they weren't there to bash Mark Carney. They were there to support Pierre and his vision. It was very optimistic. Exactly. So I guess my main criticism would be book bigger venues. Yeah. Yeah. And make sure, like, you know,

cause I think about it, if you're the kind of person who comes up politically, you go somewhere for three hours, you're waiting to get in line, you don't get in, it's gonna put a little bit of sourness in your mouth. But explain to me then, Anthony, I show up there yesterday, I see what I see. It's not necessarily a Tory stronghold, the GTA, and yet you get 2,500 people who show up on a Sunday.

I'm trying to square that with the polls that we see that put the Tories and the liberals neck and neck. Yeah, well, I mean, listen, here's the thing. Not everybody who votes is super enthusiastic. I think it speaks to this. There is quite a bit of an enthusiasm gap, I guess you could say between conservative voters and liberal voters in the sense that people who are voting for peer polyiak are very excited to do so by and large.

This is not a new phenomenon. Whereas people who right now anyway are voting for Mark Carney, disproportionately people who, like a lot for example, are former new Democrats who are scared of one way or another of the threats posed by Donald Trump or something like that. So you can see, and public polling does back this up, Mark Carney's support is a lot softer than Pierre Polietz is. So the conservative floor, the conservative base is very strong. People who are going to vote conservative, it's very unlikely that they're going to have their minds changed at this point in the game. But there's still a lot of liberal voters that are tepidly right now saying

they're going to vote for Mark Carney, but very much can be brought back and forth, not only by the way for the conservatives, but also for new Democrats. Okay, let's talk location and where are the votes up for grabs because it feels like Ontario, Atlantic, Canada, Quebec, those are the battlegrounds in this election. And, you know, Pierre started in Quebec, finished in Toronto, Mark Carney was out in St. John's. So it seems like that bears out in St. John's. So it seems like that bears out the theory. Yeah, so I think the real battlegrounds, what you're going to it's not particularly unique. But obviously, the GTA is not just a battleground. It is the biggest battleground. And it tends to be where elections are one fought and

decided. But beyond that, you've got pockets of the greater Vancouver area, right? So we BC there's areas that are very very competitive. You have northern BC and in the interior they tend to be more conservative and then BC is unique that the NDP is still usually quite strong there. So pockets like Vancouver Island where you're gonna see a bit more of that. And then I think large swaths of Atlantic Canada are also massively up for grabs. Quebec is gonna be more interesting. I don't think we're going to see conservatives win, you know, 25 seats or something out there,

but there's a massive dogfight going on in a certain areas between the Bloc and the Liberal Party. And that can change a lot on a dime. But I think for the purposes of conservative, liberal, I think the three places, Atlantic Canada at large, the GTA, and specific areas in BC. I remember my friend yesterday, who I was with at the rally, said, you know, who knows a thing or two about these campaigns that I think you can expect that on most days,

the conservatives are going to start every day with a massive policy announcement. They certainly didn't disappoint this morning with the 15% income tax cut. That's a very big deal. Who's it going to resonate with? Why? Why bring that up so early in the campaign? Is it about differentiating themselves from a liberal party that is essentially trying to mimic the Tories in a lot of ways? I think this is still very much a cost of living based election. People are struggling. Tariffs add to that, but people are struggling. And this is one thing I'm very happy to see. For the longest time, conservatives would smash their head against walls coming up with

this convoluted policy platform full of random boutique tax credits, but not everybody. I always said, and I'm very happy that Mr. Poliev has done this, do one concentrated simple income tax cut that applies for everybody. But the fact that he did it the way that they're doing it, which is a cut at the lowest income tax bracket, means that while everybody will benefit from the tax cut, it will disproportionately benefit people towards the lower end of the income scale. So the typical criticism of tax cuts that they disproportionately benefit wealthy folks does not apply in this case.

It's a tax cut for everybody, but it helps those who need it most, the most. I'm speaking with Anthony Kosh, managing principal at AK Strategies. We're talking about the conservative strategy in these early days of the election campaign. I got to ask, yesterday in front of Queens Park, it felt like Mark Carney sort of threw out this, almost felt like he made up this 1% tax cut that he was offering up.

So do you think that the Tories decided to move up this 15% tax cut because of because of his reference to taxes yesterday? I don't think so. So this was something that was in the works for quite some time. Pierre has made this a big part, whether it's the carbon tax or whether it's income tax, any taxes, Pierre Pauli have wants to cut your taxes, right? He wants to put more money in your pocket because he believes that Canadians know best to do with their dollars much more than bureaucrats in Ottawa do.

So I don't think that was it. But I do think it is funny to see Mark Carney come out with a 1% tax cut the way that he did. Yeah. You know, that saves a family a maximum of $800 and an individual a maximum of $400. I mean, listen, I'm always happy to hear a politician tell me he's going to cut my taxes.

But yeah, I definitely think the conservative proposal is more substantive and actually will help people in a far more significant way. Let's go back to looking at this macro style. Because the polls have been so volatile, does that speak to the number of possibly undecided voters out there that are up for grabs? I mean, for somebody to switch from, from liberal to tori and back to

liberal tells me that there's a lot of room to grow on either side. 100% So this is the thing that we're saying Mark Carney Carney's support is still very soft, but it's funny. You mentioned liberal conservative switchers. I think the more interesting story right now is NDP liberal switchers. So if you see the NDP in elections recently usually tend to fall somewhere between 18 to 20%,

maybe a bit lower, a bit higher. Right now they're pulling anywhere from 11 to 13. So they've dropped between five to six percent. Maybe a bit lower, a bit higher. Right now, they're pulling anywhere from 11 to 13. Okay. So they've dropped between five to six points. But that's not good for the Tories. I've always heard that the magic number is 15 percent. They have to be at least 15 percent for the Tories to be competitive. In certain parts of the country, for sure. But this is my point as well. Everyone's talking about whether Mark Carney will bleed to the Tories. He has the potential to bleed on two fronts. And I think that there's a lot of people are projecting onto Mark Carney an

idealized version of what they think that he actually is. And even if you see polling and you see you watch Polly Market or any of the things that some of the people do, you see the first few days of the campaign or the pre-campaign when Mark Carney actually became prime minister, his numbers have actually soured a bit. So it seems to be, and I know there's been much talk about this in liberal land, that the more people see of Mark Carney in front of a camera, the less they tend to like him. So I suspect they're gonna try to bunker him to some extent. But the point is, this is far from over in any case. Yeah. Mark Carney, contrary to Pierre Paul yet, doesn't just have to worry about bleeding in one direction, he has to worry about bleeding too. Well, that's right. I mean, when you

want to be all things to all people, you open yourself up to bleeding on both flanks. I want to thank you, Anthony, for being here and giving us a snapshot. I know that we're going to talk to you plenty more in the future. Have a great day, my friend. Thank you, too. At Desjardins, we speak business. We speak equipment modernization. We're fluent in data digitization and expansion into foreign markets. And we can talk all day about streamlining manufacturing processes. Because at Desjardins Business, we speak the same language you do, business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian

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