Over 200 mostly young people came out in support of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during an address to Canada’s youth on Thursday in Toronto, most with a message of hope and belief in his Conservative Party of Canada.
At the Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre in Toronto, Poilievre delivered a speech challenging Prime Minister Mark Carney’s address to youth, where the prime minister warned young people that Canadians would have to make “sacrifices” with his overdue federal budget.
Poilievre spoke about broken Liberal government promises, the cost of living, housing, jobs, and temporary foreign workers contributing to youth unemployment, inflation, and crime. He also pledged that Conservatives would work to “restore the promise of Canada” that anyone from anywhere could build a life in the country if they worked hard, a promise he said Liberals shattered.
The Conservatives weren’t the only people who spoke to youth on Thursday. Several young people from various backgrounds, including sitting Members of Parliament and campus Conservative clubs, spoke about the struggles they face in finding jobs in their fields of study and the economy.
True North spoke with several attendees at the event to find out what was driving the youth to show up and hear Poilievre speak.
“It’s rare you find such a big movement for positive change, change based not on fear mongering about something we can’t control like Trump, but real positive change on something we can control, which is how our country runs,” Nicholas, a 15-year-old who didn’t want to give his last name, said. “When he talked about how much of a better future Canada can have, it really resonated with me, because hope is the most important thing to have in times of uncertainty. And it’s not telling people to give up. It’s telling people to fight on no matter what.”
Nicholas said Poilievre’s vision of economic freedom resonated with him as a young person who wants to pursue his dreams and not just settle for a career because it’s the only option available.
Tristan Mejia, another 15-year-old, said Poilievre’s speech accurately represented the struggles facing young people in Canada and provided solutions that he believes in. He said he lives with his aunt, who is 78 years old and struggles to find a job to help her out with the bills, blaming the Liberal government’s management for the lack of opportunities.
“When he said that rent has doubled and that seniors are very barely able to afford homes, that really resonated with me, because that’s my situation right now,” Mejia said. “It hurts my heart that I can’t help her out because of this government.”
He said Poilievre’s speech left him feeling a lot of love for Poilievre and his message.
The crowd of mostly young people erupted in applause when Poilievre spoke about eliminating the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which he says is contributing to the lack of opportunities for young people in Canada.
Several attendees explained to True North that Poilievre’s call to abolish the program would make it easier for them to find jobs.
“I’m definitely concerned about the job market, the housing market, those are probably the big two for me. I really like the fact that he hit hard on the TFW program, which I think has been abused across the board,” 22-year-old Daniel Morano said. “It exploits us. It also exploits the temporary foreign workers that are a part of it.”
Morano said he likes Poilievre’s message because it’s “executed on hope, not misery.”
“When I look at him speak, it gets me excited. It gets me hopeful that there can be better, whereas, on the opposite end, (with the Liberals), it’s definitely been a lot of fear. And what I would say is fear mongering and a lot of downing of our generation.”
15-year-old Mehmet Yalcinkya said he’s tired of seeing a country which “came with a lot of hope” be destroyed by Canada’s “embarrassment of a government.” After the talk, Poilievre spent hours so that anyone who wanted to speak with him would have the opportunity to do so.
“We can’t afford homes, we can’t afford food. Everything is just broken, and we don’t like that. Pierre, all he does is give us hope, and that’s what we really need right now. No other party leader did that,” he said. “Pierre Poilievre is genuinely the guy to lead the country. I believe he genuinely understands the people and understands us. Is one of us. He takes his time to talk to every single person. I genuinely really like the guy and ideas.”
Yalcinkya said that Poilievre’s message of reducing immigration and eliminating the Temporary Foreign Worker Program means a lot to him, as he believes that there is “no reason” why Canadian youth should struggle to find a job at the expense of people imported just to work.
Natalia Navaro, 20, said she’s still exploring her political views, but the Conservatives “could actually have a solution” to fixing the economy and making family housing affordable. She said Poilievre’s vision of the Canadian promise “resonated” with her.
“I feel like we’re kind of sold the idea that with hard work and an education, you can get a decent job, you can pay for your bills, you can have a good meal every single day, sleep well, have a house and be able to create a family,” Navaro said. “But nowadays that’s not really possible. That’s more so a dream far, far gone.”