How Pierre Poilievre is winning new support among young, diverse voters

It was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's YouTube videos that caught the eye of Joshua Deslandes, a University of Toronto student studying economics and political science.

"He really inspired me to become a Conservative. I just loved the message. I loved all the branding. I really just love the Conservative Party," the 19 year-old said during the Conservatives' convention in Ottawa last week.

"I bought a membership and I'm really just engaging, meeting MPs, talking to people, and it's just been very fun."

Deslandes is one of the Conservative Party of Canada's newest members — a young person of colour who says he was drawn in by a positive message about the future.

Poilievre became the new leader last week after capturing two-thirds of the votes— a level of party support that not even former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper enjoyed.

Tina Park, a lecturer in Canadian nationalism at the University of Toronto, said Poilievre's appeal among younger voters is driven in part by his social media and communication strategies — and by the fact that he's a relatively young face in Canadian politics.

"If you listen to his speeches, it's very direct, very simple and very relatable for young people who are struggling with inflation issues, who are finding themselves unable to buy a house because things are just too expensive for them," Park said.

"Some of his messages are very extreme, to be honest, but in a way that satisfies a certain appetite among the Canadian public about a change and an alternative sort of vision that could take them forward and help them plan a new future."

Park said that as Canadians struggle with inflation brought on by the pandemic and global supply chain issues, many are being forced to cut back on spending.

"Because of the economic pressure that they're facing, we always have a tendency as human beings to turn to the other side when you think that the current system is not working for you," she said. "Especially the younger people in their 30s who are looking to start a family and then move on with the next stage in their lives, [they] find a new sort of vision in Mr. Poilievre."

Park said while the Conservative Party is seeing a diverse group of young people joining up, it has always had a core group of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) members, especially recent immigrants.

Sufiyan Master, a 21-year-old from Montreal and a new Conservative Party member, said he hadn't seen himself in the party until recently.

"I never thought of politics before … just because it's a thought that's felt so out of reach," said

"As a Muslim son of an immigrant, we've always leaned toward the Liberal Party. It was just something that felt like home— felt like it represented our values. But I think us as minorities, we have this misperception, a misunderstanding of the different visions that different parties can come to the table and offer.