SASKATOON — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre vowed that his government will begin its work from Day One, if the Tories win a majority in the election on Monday, April 28, and cancel their summer plans to pass three pieces of legislation within the first 100 days. He met with several supporters and answered questions from reporters after a press conference on Friday, April 25, at the TCU Place.
The event took place almost eight hours after Poilievre’s Canada First Rally for Change on Thursday, April 24, where he addressed a packed crowd of over 1,000 supporters at the Bizhub Industrial Park 13 kilometres outside Saskatoon. Poilievre’s speech was interrupted at least three times by those who oppose his proposed policies.
This election is expected to be a tight race between the Tories, who hope to return to power and end the decades-long Liberal rule under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Poilievre faces Mark Carney, appointed to replace Trudeau after the latter resigned early this year. Opinion polling by various research think-tanks shows Carney and the Liberals holding a slim lead over Poilievre’s Tories. Stephen Harper was the last Tory PM, serving from 2006 to 2015.
Poilievre rolled out his “100 Days of Change” program, where he emphasized that his Conservative government would prioritize passing three pieces of legislation — the Affordability for a Change Act, the Safe Streets for a Change Act, and the Bring Home Jobs for a Change Act — to help Canadians, get the country's economy back on track, and fix the damaging policies implemented during the almost 10-year rule of the Liberals.
“Change can't wait. But the politicians' vacations will have to wait. I am announcing that summer vacation for politicians is cancelled. We will keep Parliament open throughout the summer to pass these laws. We have to choose change for a brighter future for our families. Change cannot wait. We need a new Conservative government that will get busy on day one. Change is what we need now more than ever. After losing several decades of rising costs and crime, we can't afford a fourth liberal term. We need change,” said Poilievre, who mentioned the word change more than 90 times.
“After a lost decade of tax evasion and economic weakness, we can't take the risk of a fourth liberal term. We need change. Change can't wait. After the lost several decades of soaring costs, rising from an economy that is weaker than any other in the G7, Canadians are asking the simple question: Can we afford to allow Mark Carney to have the fourth term of Justin Trudeau, raising the same taxes, running the same deficits, doubling the same housing costs, with the same liberal team?”
Some of the promises included in the Affordability for a Change Act are cutting income taxes by 15 per cent, giving an average worker an extra $900 a year and a dual-income family $1,800 annually; axing the federal sales tax on new homes up to $1.3 million, with a plan to incentivize cities to lower development charges therefore saving homebuyers $100,000 when they buy a new home; axing the federal sales tax on new Canadian cars, protecting the jobs of auto workers; and repealing the entire carbon tax law, which include the federal industrial carbon tax backstop restoring Canada’s industrial base and take back the country’s economic control from its southern neighbour.
Poilievre said the legislation will lower food prices and make things more affordable for Canadians after his government, if the Conservatives are re-elected, scraps the fuel regulations and electricity taxes implemented by the Liberals to lower the cost of heating, gas, and fuel. If passed, the bill will also allow the government to build more homes by identifying 15 per cent of federal buildings and lands for sale to support housing development in Canadian cities experiencing a homelessness crisis.
“This election comes down to one word, and that is change. That's the only word. That's the lesson of 2025. We have to change. Change so that you can afford food and housing. Change so you're safe on your streets. Change so that we can reverse liberal economic weakness and bring jobs back home. Change is what we need now more than ever,” said Poilievre, who added Carney can’t be trusted on what he says.
“We know that he has plagiarized Justin Trudeau's platform. We now know the liberals broke the platform for Trudeau, and Mark Carney replaced Trudeau's name with his own. And what is he promising? A platform with $130 billion of additional spending above and beyond the deficits Trudeau had already foreseen. Now, that would mean that if you add up Trudeau's promises and Carney's spending, Liberals would add a quarter trillion dollars of new inflationary debt to drive up your cost of food and housing if they get a fourth term.”
