Poilievre visits B.C. as poll shows Conservative support growing in the province

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a news conference in Ottawa on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began a weeklong tour of British Columbia on Monday, where recent polling suggests support for his party continues to grow.

Poilievre was scheduled to begin his tour in Victoria, where the Tory leader has been critical of the provincial NDP government’s policies on housing and drug decriminalization.

The Conservative leader was expected to visit other Vancouver Island cities, including Nanaimo, Parksville, Courtenay and Comox, before departing for the B.C. mainland later this week.

A statement from Poilievre’s office says the leader plans to meet with workers and families to discuss his plans for safer communities and better affordability.

The Opposition leader was scheduled to hold an “Axe the Tax” rally, mustering support to stop the Liberal government’s consumer carbon price, in Powell River at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The only other public event currently scheduled during his trip is a fundraising event in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday afternoon.

The event, billed as “An afternoon with Pierre Poilievre in support of the Conservative Party of Canada,” is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Paradox Hotel Vancouver, with tickets priced at $1,750.

A new Research Co. poll published last week showed the federal Conservatives amassing a significant lead over the governing Liberal party led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

More than half (54 per cent) of the online poll respondents in B.C. who described themselves as “decided voters” said they would cast a ballot for the Conservatives if an election were held now, compared to 22 per cent who said they would vote Liberal and 18 per cent who said they would vote for the NDP.

Across the country, 47 per cent of self-described decided voters said they would vote for the Tories if the election were held now, marking a seven per cent rise in Conservative support since the same question was asked by the polling firm in August.

With voters set to head to the polls in a federal election this year, 29 per cent of respondents said housing, homelessness and poverty is the most pressing issue facing the country, followed by the economy and jobs at 22 per cent, health care at 16 per cent, immigration at 13 per cent and the environment at six per cent.

The Research Co. survey was based on responses from 1,002 Canadian adults queried between Jan. 3 and Jan. 5., with the data statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error, which measures sample variability, was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.