Pierre Poilievre says he will “show up” for northwestern Ontario if he is elected Prime Minister in next year’s federal election.
The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada was in the Rainy River District this week to kick off a tour of the north of the province as politicians begin to gear up for the next federal election, scheduled to he held on or before October 20, 2025. Touring on his “Axe the Tax” platform, the Conservative leader’s two days in the region were planned to be spent at West Fraser’s Barwick OSB mill on Monday, July 29, 2024, at a political rally held at the Fort Frances Royal Canadian Legion Branch #29 later that evening, and a stop at Manitou Forest Products on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
The Fort Frances Times was granted the chance to sit down with Poilievre for a brief interview following a tour of the West Fraser mill, where he also met with and spoke to employees. During that time, he shared how his government would tackle some of the key issues affecting those living in the region, including how he will ensure that the unique needs of northwestern Ontario are being heard, rather than being lumped in with the rest of the province.
“It starts by showing up,” Poilievre said.
“I’m very happy to be here today to listen to the loggers, the miners, the other great workers who helped build our country. They’re forgotten about by big shot decision makers in corporations and government. I want them all to know they’ll have a voice and I care deeply about their lives and their dreams and the country that they want for their kids.”
Poilievre’s tour through the north of Ontario is centred around cutting the federal carbon tax, which he says is driving up prices for Canadians across the board by increasing the base cost of gasoline and other fuels, something that is exacerbated in regions like the Rainy River District, where driving long distances is the norm and colder temperatures increase heating needs. Poilievre says this cut will return money to Canadians and help to lower the costs of things like food.
The Liberal government’s carbon pricing plan was implemented to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada as part of its plan to combat climate change. Poilievre says rather than a carbon tax, his government would instead lower the country’s emissions by investing in “technology, not taxes.”
“We need to rapidly approve nuclear, hydroelectric, carbon capture and storage and other alternatives,” he said.
“It’s by bringing down the [cost of] alternative energy sources, rather than bringing up the cost of traditional energy that we still need. We also need to displace global emissions by exporting our clean, green Canadian natural gas so that foreign countries can close down their dirty coal fire and reduce their atmospheric emissions. We know that, for example, sending our natural gas to India to supply them with half of their electrical demand growth will displace 2.5-million tonnes of greenhouse gases, which is three times the total emissions of Canada.”
Poilievre also noted he would kill what he calls the Liberal-NDP coalition government’s plan to ban hunting rifles, something he says is critical in times of high prices as more people turn to hunting and fishing for food.
“Not only do people enjoy hunting and fishing as recreation, it’s now become a matter of sustenance,” he said.
“People can’t afford getting protein from the store anymore, so going out and hunting is part of the way you feed your family now. So that’s one of the reasons we need to protecting against Trudeau’s hunting rifle ban.”
Asked about protecting the environment that hunters and fishers rely on for that food while still fulfilling the need of expanding industry like forestry or mining within the region, Poilievre stated that he didn’t see the situation as “one or the other.”
“We have such a bountiful supply of timber that we can harvest it,” he said.
“We can harvest a lot more of it without threatening our hunting, our fishing, our farming. We’ve done it for years and I think we have to be realistic; we need to harvest the timber in order to build homes and provide paycheques. I think the alarmism by radical anti-development, anti-business politicians is a threat to the way of life of people who live in resource communities like this one, and I’m going to protect the resources jobs and bring home more of the production here.”
The final question the Times had for Poilievre was in how his government would help deal with the shortage of doctors and nurses being experienced by communities throughout the province, particularly in smaller and rural communities like Fort Frances. Poilievre said the easiest solution was to make it easier for foreign-trained doctors to get certified to practice medicine in the country by implementing a “Blue Seal” program, similar to the Red Seal certification within the trades that allows certified tradespeople to practice their profession across Canada.
“The easiest way to do it is to license the 20,000 immigrant doctors that are already here,” he said.
“We have a terrible mess when it comes to licensing doctors in Canada, but we also have a solution. We have the Red Seal for the trades, and that’s existed for 72 years. We’re doing that since 1952. But when you go over to the professions, it’s this complete maze that takes seven or eight years, so most immigrant doctors give up… what I’m saying is let’s create a Blue Seal for the professions so immigrant doctors can take a test, prove they’re qualified and get licensed and working in our hospitals.”
Poilievre said that his plan would create a path that would enable immigrant doctors and nurses to be able to test for qualification in 60 days.
The remainder of Poilievre’s tour will take him across the north of the province and will include stops in Hearst, Wawa, Elliot Lake, Kirkland Lake and Sudbury.
