Poilievre’s media hatred is well-known, but his disdain for fellow MPs has recently come into greater public focus. 

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on September 30, 2024.

Stephen Colbert belled the cat. Before Canadians get too triumphant about how we would never vote for Donald Trump, the host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert underscored the obvious.

Pierre Poilievre is Canada’s Donald Trump.

As Canadians get closer to an election, Conservative pundits are explaining that Poilievre’s caustic campaign attitude would soften were he to become prime minister.

American pundits said the same thing when Trump was headed to the White House.

After the cliffhanger surprise victory in the November 2016 election, it was suggested that his toxic behaviour would change once he became the president.

But what we observed was the exact opposite. By empowering a bully, American Trump supporters managed to feed the ego of an even bigger bully.

Poilievre is certainly Trump-like in his attacks on everyone who opposes him, and even some of those who don’t.

The Conservative leader issued a prohibition last week against talking to any reporter with CTV news after it was revealed that his comment on dental care was edited.

But his fatwa did not stop there. He also insisted that all Conservative MPs refrain from holding any meetings with executives, lobbyists, or any other representative of Bell Media, even though CTV “unreservedly” apologized for the alleged misrepresentation.

CTV News issued a second statement on Sept. 26, saying two CTV News staff members were responsible for “altering a video clip, manipulating it for a particular story,” and are no longer members of the CTV News team. CTV News “sincerely and unreservedly” apologized, and said its duty is “to provide accurate, fair, and balanced coverage of the issues that matter to Canadians.”

Poilievre attacked the head of CTV’s parent company—and previous Conservative party donor—BCE president Mirko Bibic blaming him for a recent downgrading in the company’s valuation by Moody’s.

Poilievre also claimed that Bibic was pulling the editorial strings in the newsroom to make the Conservatives look bad, and prop up the government.

Forget about Bell’s leadership. What about the almost 45,000 people who work for the company that is struggling along with other conglomerates because of the changing media landscape?

Bibic has actually donated to the Conservative Party in the past. He even supported Jean Charest’s leadership bid, which perhaps accelerated Poilievre’s angry tone last week.

Poilievre has already trashed the CBC, claiming that as prime minister he would end its funding. He has also consistently attacked The Canadian Press for allegedly writing stories that are carried verbatim by dozens of news outlets across the country (which is their mandate).

Poilievre’s media hatred is well-known, but his disdain for fellow MPs has recently come into greater public focus.

After NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ripped up the supply-and-confidence agreement with the government earlier this month, but then refused to join in Poilievre’s non-confidence motion last week, the Conservative leader called his NDP opponent “a fake, a phoney, a fraud, and a liar.”

The move follows the same example as Trump who loves burning his bridges with aggressive and over-the-top rhetoric.

This is strange behaviour for someone whose prime ministerial future could depend on his capacity to work with other parties.

If he is elected by a minority of voters, Poilievre would have to make common cause with other leaders in order to survive.

And having a workable relationship with Singh should be on his agenda, not increasing the temperature to the point where Singh was implying to “bro” that he step across the aisle and fix their differences with their fists.

Trump has amply proven that you can’t take the bully out of the man. Even when he was in a position of authority, as the president of the United States, Trump acted as though he still had to double down permanently on all his enemies, including—and especially—those who had formerly been his friends.

As for Poilievre, he has pretty much smoked everyone in the so-called “heritage media.”

But he won’t get his message out by simple social posts or Rebel regurgitations.

Last week, Rebel was denied the right to receive media support because, according to a recent Federal Court judgment, it doesn’t create enough original news.

According to Revenue Canada, less than one per cent of Rebel’s content is original, so it cannot claim the financial payment offered by the Liberal government to existing media outlets.

That decision will no doubt enhance Poilievre’s attacks on everyone in the media, but it is a stretch to assume that the president of CTV’s parent company would have any say on what goes on in the national news room.

The legal beagles at Bell are probably reviewing their slander options today. If Poilievre were as fulsome outside the House as he was inside, he will probably be served with a notice to apologize for his comments.

But, like any bully, that may only make him angrier.

As Colbert said: Poilievre is Canada’s Trump.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

But when supporters in the media start calling for your head, it is definitely worth taking a listen.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 17, 2023.

OTTAWA—Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

That aphorism is as true in politics as it is anywhere.

It is particularly relevant when it comes to elections, including when to call them and who should lead.

Back in 2000, almost everyone in the Liberal party was begging then-prime minister Jean Chrétien not to call an election.

Some in the caucus simply wanted him to leave and pave the way for heir-apparent Paul Martin.

Others were afraid the Liberals would be punished at the urn for calling an early election with just three years into the previous mandate.

Chrétien ignored the naysayers, pulled the plug, and managed to become the first prime minister since the Second World War to win three successive majority governments.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is, no doubt, being bombarded with the same kind of advice.

Some of it is in private, not to be shared with the world. He will get lots of that advice when the Liberal family gathers in Ottawa next month for the first in-person national convention since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Trudeau is already getting lots of advice through the media.

It is fair to say that his promise of sunny days is long past, and most journalists seem to have decided that there is a dark cloud hanging over the prime minister’s head.

In some instances, that is not surprising. The National Post has had nothing but a hate-on for the Liberals ever since their founder Conrad Black was denied his British lordship by a Canadian government intervention based on the 1917 Nickle resolution.

The paper was founded in 1998 with a mandate to unite the right, and vowed to compete directly with The Globe and Mail.

That hasn’t worked so well, as only six years later Facebook was launched, with Twitter following shortly. Both platforms radically changed the way people received their news, especially millennials. They have never developed a daily newspaper-reading habit.

The National Post has been true to its mandate, but has also proved to be so far to the right that it does not hold much sway with the Canadian public.

That mistrust continues today, with columnist after columnist spewing vitriol at Trudeau and the governing Liberals.

Other newspapers are more balanced, but in recent months you can feel the pendulum swinging even there.

There is a definite anti-Trudeau shift in media coverage and that is affecting the party’s standing in public opinion polls.

Even The Globe’s Lawrence Martin, a thoughtful, liberal columnist, is suggesting the prime minister step down before the next election.

In a rather flattering article last week, Martin squibbed that Trudeau has already made a legacy worth defending, but in staying around, he runs the risk of tainting it.

Martin praised Trudeau’s political legacy, saying his progressive mission was accomplished, including national daycare, dental care, and a strengthened Canada Pension Plan. He also underscored Trudeau’s work on Indigenous issues, legalization of marijuana, women’s equality, and immigration.

Martin’s point was that Trudeau has done the heavy lifting on climate change, with a controversial carbon tax, and another term is not likely to achieve additional progressive legislation.

According to Martin, Trudeau runs the risk of “going down in flames” or leaving with a good liberal inheritance.

Martin’s advice was in the news, where the closest people to the prime minister will be offering their perspectives in private.

Trudeau also has to consider the sacrifices his family is making. As his children are getting older, it is tough to see their father’s foibles plastered all over the news.

Even the Trudeau Foundation is making front-page news, and not in a good way.

But the poll numbers still signal a difficult, but potential path to victory for the Trudeau Liberals.

The acerbic approach of Pierre Poilievre has not gone over well with Canadians, although he is still within reach of becoming prime minister.

Trudeau is a wonderful campaigner, and Poilievre constantly appears angry and disdainful, which does not increase his likeability factor.

But Trudeau also has a lengthening list of enemies, which is only natural after a decade in government.

Those enemies include multiple provincial leaders, who miss no opportunity to take a shot at the hated Liberals.

Let’s face it: politics is the only job where the more experience you get, the more people want to get rid of you.

When supporters in the media start calling for your head, it is definitely worth taking a listen.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.