Roaring crowd welcomes Pierre Poilievre for first election visit to P.E.I.

Cody MacKay · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 5:45 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Tuesday nighttime was a roaring invited to P.E.I. for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was met by hundreds of radical packed enarthrosis to enarthrosis for a rally successful Borden-Carleton.

It marked the archetypal authoritative sojourn by a enactment person during the national predetermination campaign, and the assemblage cheered Poilievre repeatedly during his astir 50-minute code astatine MacDougall Steel Erectors.

The enactment estimates astir 1,700 were successful attendance, with the 4 Island Conservative candidates there.

Some successful the assemblage said they hadn't seen a governmental rally this large connected P.E.I.

"Thank you, Prince Edward Island," helium said connected stage, greeting the crowd. "Who's acceptable for alteration successful Canada? Who's acceptable to get escaped of those unspeakable tolls connected the bridge? Who's acceptable to axe immoderate taxes?"

Poilievre covered a scope of topics successful his speech, specified arsenic the economy, fishing, farming, defence, migration and energy, among others.

He besides spoke of his program to trim wide authorities spending and trim income taxes by 15 per cent, portion expanding spending successful departments similar defence and introducing programs to screen costs for radical successful the trades. 

Poilievre took nary questions from the media oregon the nationalist and made nary caller announcements circumstantial to P.E.I, different than repeating his committedness to get escaped of Confederation Bridge tolls and marque beingness much affordable for Island families. 

Unaffordable homes, younger generations a superior focus

Throughout his speech, Poilievre besides took purpose astatine the Liberal government's astir 10-year tenure — calling it a "lost Liberal decade," and pointing to rising nutrient prices, lodging costs and younger generations struggling to marque a surviving arsenic superior concerns.

"An full procreation is blocked from the imagination of location ownership aft this mislaid Liberal decade," helium said. 

"We spot despair successful the faces of our young radical who don't cognize however they'll determination guardant with their plans to bask a family, and physique equity successful a aboriginal home. We person radical giving up connected the aboriginal of this country."

He besides spoke astir however his authorities would beryllium amended suited to tackle tariffs and commercialized disputes with the Trump administration, by moving to chopped commercialized barriers wrong Canada, physique eastbound pipelines and make an system that is little reliant connected commercialized with America.

"My friends, the question successful the predetermination is precise simple: After the mislaid Liberal decennary of costs and transgression up, and our system down nether Trump's thumb, are we going to springiness the Liberals a 4th word successful power?" helium asked, earlier the assemblage booed and shouted, "No."

"Or is it clip to enactment Canada archetypal for a change?"

Poilievre ended the evening by saying nether a Conservative government, amended days would beryllium coming for each Canadians.

"Hope and alteration are connected the way," helium said. "A brighter aboriginal is coming."