A new Liberal Party website asks Canadians to rank their least favourite moments of Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre’s 20-year career as a member of Parliament.
The website, launched Monday, features clips of some of Poilievre’s past statements in the House of Commons as well as news clips discussing some of Poilievre’s public appearances, including with people who appear to support conspiracy theories.
The earliest clip is from 2005. The most recent is from April, when Poilievre hinted at invoking the notwithstanding clause in a speech to the Canadian Police Association. Visitors to the site are invited to vote for which moment they think is the worst.
“20 years of Pierre Poilievre is enough,” the Liberal website reads. “Helps us rank the worst of Pierre Poilievre’s record.”
The clips cover topics ranging from traditional social conservative issues, such as abortion and LGBTQ issues, to Poilievre’s statements about Covid-era vaccine mandates and recovery programs, to his vote against the free trade deal with Ukraine in February.
Canadian Affairs emailed the Liberal Party and Conservative Party on Monday requesting interviews or comments about the new website. Neither responded by deadline.
As of Wednesday morning, the highest ranked moment was a clip from Poilievre defending an amendment made in 2013, when Stephen Harper was prime minister, that would allow the government to review the collective bargaining agreements between unions and Crown corporations. The Liberals’ new website describes this moment as: Poilievre “worked to bring American-style, anti-union laws to Canada.”
The clip had received more than 17,000 votes by Wednesday afternoon.
Other clips try to stoke fears that a Conservative government would restrict access to abortion in Canada. One highlights a moment from a Conservative debate in 2022 when Poilievre said he “believes in free votes” when asked if he would allow members of Parliament to “vote their conscience on issues of life.” The Liberal website says that Poilievre’s commitment to free votes would allow members of Parliament to introduce anti-abortion legislation.
The official Conservative Party platform says that “a Conservative government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.”
The party platform allows members of Parliament to vote freely on matters related to abortion, medical assistance in dying or definitions of marriage.
The second-highest ranked clip on the Liberal website is a statement from 2005 when Poilievre defended maintaining the legal definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.
Canada legalized same-sex marriage in 2005.
Although some Conservative members of Parliament disagree with same-sex marriage, Poilievre has stated that he would maintain the current marriage laws in Canada.
Jonathan Malloy, a political science professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, called the website a “clever new tool in the endless game of political competition.”
The website’s tactics — such as taking statements out of context or capitalizing on fears that US-style restrictions on abortion will come to Canada — are not new. But the interactive nature of the site is different, Malloy says.
“Parties are trying to engage people and give them game-like activities and ways to feel like you’re interacting a bit,” he said. The votes also let the party know what some of the strongest attacks against Poilievre are, he says.
“They’re pretty much testing lines to see what works,” he said. If an election were held today, 41 per cent of Canadians would vote for the Conservatives, versus 27 per cent who would vote for the Liberals, according to polling done by the firm Leger in June. The number of people who said they would vote for the Liberals increased four points between May and June, the firm says.
