Poilievre tells Fredericton rally he'll make Canada stronger as it stands up to Trump

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 7:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

With supporters from crossed New Brunswick packed into the Fredericton Exhibition Grounds, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre gave a astir hour-long code Monday night, promising a stronger state to basal up to Donald Trump while occasionally seeming to echo the U.S. president.

"We request to beryllium a federation that stands connected its ain 2 feet, that supplies its ain resources … we volition basal up to President Trump from a presumption of strength," Poilievre told the assemblage estimated by enactment organizers astatine 2,000. 

As helium ran done galore of his run promises, Poilievre said much children should articulation the cadets, and the subject needs to clasp much of a "warrior culture, not a woke culture."

Poilievre spoke of a "lost Liberal decade" nether erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau, and the assemblage responded with boos and jeers astatine each notation of Mark Carney, the caller Liberal Leader.

At 1 point, an assemblage subordinate yelled retired that Carney should beryllium jailed, but Poilievre responded, "We don't request to bash that, we request to ballot them out."

WATCH | Here's wherefore these New Brunswickers are supporting Poilievre:

It was the archetypal sojourn to New Brunswick by a enactment leader running for the premier minister's occupation successful the April 28 national election. Earlier successful the day, Poilievre was successful Saint John, where he laid retired his program for an lipid pipeline to the larboard city. 

In Fredericton, helium spoke about amending the Criminal Code to springiness harsher sentences to cause dealers and beingness sentences to weapon smugglers and astir reducing drugs coming crossed the Canadian border.

Poilevre also spoke astir supporting trades workers and the request to physique much homes, on with capping migration to lucifer lodging operation and supporting weapon owners. He besides promised to marque it easier for overseas doctors to commencement moving sooner aft immigrating.

Media covering the rally were tightly controlled, with enactment handlers stopping reporters from speaking to Poilievre supporters successful the gathering earlier the rally began. 

Supporters interviewed by CBC News hardly mentioned Trump's tariffs oregon his desire to annex Canada but alternatively said affordability, getting escaped of the Liberal Party and little taxes were important to them. 

Luke Gee of Harvey said that helium came to the rally to beryllium portion of the "great alteration we're truthful successful request of" and that Polievre felt genuine to him. 

He said the New Brunswick government's moratorium connected fracking has driven distant opportunities from the province, and that transgression has "gotten retired of hand."

"I person large respect for our men and women successful instrumentality enforcement, but their hands are tied with the courts," Gee said. 

First-time elector David MacLean, 18, came to the rally from Memramcook and said seeing Poilievre made him consciousness arrogant to beryllium a Canadian.

As a young person, MacLean said, he's acrophobic that "housing is precise unaffordable and everything is going retired of control."

David Smith of Fredericton said there's a "long database of issues" that substance to him successful the campaign, and helium believed the Liberal authorities has been too big.

"The authorities needs to bash less, fto the backstage assemblage bash more," Smith said. 

He mentioned a Conservative committedness to region the superior gains taxation and to let Canadians to lend $5,000 much a twelvemonth to their tax-free savings accounts if they put successful Canadian companies. 

The Conservative campaigner for Fredericton-Oromocto, Brian MacDonald, on with Poilievre's wife, Anaida, opened the event.

MacDonald faces disconnected successful that riding against Liberal campaigner David Myles, the NDP's Nicki Lyons-Macfarlane, the Green Party's Pamela Allen-LeBlanc, Heather Michaud of the People's Party, Dominic Cardy with the Canada Future Party and June Patterson of the Communist Party. 

While Conservative candidates for New Brunswick ridings were fixed front-row seats, besides successful the assemblage was erstwhile Premier Blaine Higgs, who said successful an interrogation that helium mightiness assistance the national enactment run this election. 

"I experienced a national authorities that didn't person the champion involvement of Canadians astatine heart, and I don't spot that changing anytime soon without a alteration successful government," said Higgs, whose enactment mislaid to the Liberals successful the provincial predetermination past fall.

Higgs went connected to accidental that supporting the Energy East Pipeline, an contented helium unsuccessfully pushed for arsenic premier, "is present successful vogue."

"When [Poilievre] becomes premier minister, I'm bittersweet I'm not going to beryllium determination to beryllium a portion of it."