Poilievre riding high in polls as Conservatives meet for policy convention
CBC
Conservative party members will assemble in Quebec City starting Thursday for a three-day policy convention — a chance to craft a playbook to woo voters who are showing signs of fatigue with the governing Liberals.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has seen his fortunes improve over the summer months with the party registering higher support in public opinion polls — figures that suggest the party could form a majority government if the next election were held any time soon.
Poilievre is laser-focused on affordability, inflation and the government's perceived failings but some party members have other issues on their mind.
The list of policy proposals before delegates this weekend includes some ideas to address the crippling increase in the cost of living, including providing different mortgage terms so homebuyers can lock in at lower rates for longer, and changes to the RRSP withdrawal rules for seniors.
But the document also reveals some members are eager to engage in so-called culture wars topics.
There are pitches on upending transgender-related policies, limiting euthanasia, doing away with forced diversity training, scrapping vaccine mandates for good and dismantling the Emergencies Act, the legislation used to dismantle the 2022 COVID-19 convoy.
The policies were crafted by the party's grassroots and approved by local electoral district associations (EDAs) before making it to this convention. There will be further debate before a final vote on the new policies on Saturday.
The policies are designed to inform the party's next election platform but Poilievre isn't required to campaign on what delegates endorse.
These conventions have been a headache for past leaders.
At the 2021 policy convention, Poilievre's predecessor, Erin O'Toole, promised action on the environment in a speech. The very next day, party delegates rejected a motion that declared climate change is real. As a result, O'Toole left the convention weakened with rampant internal discontent.
The challenge for Poilievre, party insiders and observers tell CBC News, is keeping members focused on the main task before them: cobbling together a winning coalition that can take down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and end eight years of Liberal rule.
The party can't be distracted by social issues that could be off-putting to swing voters, the insiders said.
A policy to ban sex-selective abortions — a long-time demand of some anti-abortion activists in the party — was initially included in the list of policy proposals but was ultimately dumped from the final 55 that delegates will debate this week.
It's a sign that the Poilievre-led party doesn't want to be consumed by at least one divisive social issue.
A new study suggests that a colony of sea birds nesting on Cape Parry in the N.W.T. could face increasing threats related to increased Arctic shipping traffic and environmental change.
Albertans — predominantly members of the South Asian community — gathered at the Venice Banquet Hall in northeast Calgary for a town hall Saturday to address concerns around extortion and crime, with provincial and federal elected officials in attendance.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party's focus on affordability "is what unites all Conservatives," as the Tories grapple with another MP crossing the floor to join the Liberals — bringing them one seat shy of forming a majority government.
Toronto, York and Peel police are increasing their presence in the Jewish community during Hanukkah after the harrowing attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Another round of wintry weather is moving through Nova Scotia and P.E.I. on Sunday and will continue into Monday, with more snow and gusty winds, followed by frigid temperatures.
Hundreds of Londoners showed up at CBC's annual Make the Season Kind holiday event on Thursday in support of the London Food Bank.
The crisp weather didn’t stop the hundreds of people who took part in the annual Mummer’s parade in Bowring Park, St. John’s Saturday.
Wake Lloire loves how slow letter writing is, from composition right to its arrival at its final destination by mail. It's like a "little time capsule."
Experts are constantly warning the public to be on guard for new and increasingly convincing scams, but police say the holiday shopping season is especially fraught with risk.
A surgeon who used to work at Flin Flon's hospital says residents in the northwestern Manitoba city have been left in a precarious situation after more than five years without general surgery services.
Moubarak Bokhit Ali's memories of his home country of Sudan are punctuated by flashes of violence.
The man behind the Moose Jaw health centre that has claimed “a 100 per cent success rate in stopping the progression and in restoring function of people with ALS” says a recent CBC story about his company is evidence that he is seen as “a direct threat to the ALS drug industry.”
The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s trans and non-binary grocery program, which offers free food and household products to community members once a month, began with a simple question: how do we get free menstrual products to trans people without being awkward?