Poilievre’s Powers of Persuasion

How the Conservative Party of Canada is Reaching Canadians in New Ways

As we move ever closer to a federal election, Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives continue to dominate political communications. Meanwhile, the Liberals are scrambling to find a new leader who can distance themselves from Trudeau’s divisive shadow and attempt to find a way to connect with Canadians. There is little chance that Poilievre will take his foot off the gas pedal over these next few transformative months, as he shares his vision for Canada aided by a substantial war chest with a seemingly endless amount of content to produce.

Poilievre has consistently ridden a 20-point advantage in the polls since mid-2023, and his distinct approach to communications has been heavily credited for his rise in popularity. Poilievre has been exploring new ways of speaking directly to Canadians and has shifted how organizations engage with political parties and government.

Fundraising and Digital Advertising

As the face of Canada’s Official Opposition, Poilievre’s explosive fundraising success has significantly increased the party’s ability to advertise widely to Canadians. Between January 2024 and October 2024, the Conservatives raised $29 million, while the Liberals garnered only $10.2 million in the same 10-month period. New numbers will be released in January, creating a full picture of 2024, but the Conservatives will likely continue to widen their fundraising gap.

Over the past three months, the Conservatives have spent $684,200 on Facebook and Instagram ads while the Liberals have spent $286,500 – more than double the current governing party’s spending on this platform. With more money to put into advertising, Poilievre is focused on getting his message out to Canadians and potential donors, maximizing his ability for new sign-ups and more donors nation-wide.

The Liberals are now turning their focus inwards with their leadership race commencing. This comes at a time when the Liberal Party has struggled to communicate with the public as Poilievre’s “Canada is broken” narrative has taken hold. It is worth noting that in the days following the Prime Minister’s resignation announcement, the Conservatives have released more attack ad content on possible Liberal leaders, than the Liberals have released about their own leadership race. The contrast highlights the Conservatives’ agile communications footing and continued determination to set the political frame.

Historically, an Opposition Leader would struggle to get attention, especially when all the legacy media focuses their coverage on the governing party electing a new leader and Prime Minister.  This situation is unique in Canadian political history, as the Conservatives will be able to sidestep the television coverage with advertising on multiple platforms and shape Canadians’ views on the next Liberal Prime Minister before the votes are even counted. The Liberal Party, with their most skilled operators fractured into different leadership camps, will not be able to effectively combat the attacks that the Conservatives will lay on them in the weeks ahead.

Poilievre’s Background in Political Communications

While many Canadians more recently became acquainted with Pierre Poilievre’s ability to steal the news cycle spotlight since becoming leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, political junkies are no stranger to the fact that Poilievre has consistently honed his communications craft over decades. In Andrew Lawton’s Book, Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life, Lawton notes that Poilievre had a knack for political communications, even in his early twenties while working on Stockwell Day’s leadership campaign and in Day’s office as a staffer, before running for office himself. Poilievre oversaw the creation of political ads and was known for his quotable one-liners and constant need to create simple and digestible messaging. This characteristic has remained consistent throughout his tenure as Leader.

With over two decades of experience working as an MP in the House of Commons, Poilievre has consistently shown his ability to simplify complicated government issues into easy-to-understand ideas. When the Conservatives moved into opposition, Poilievre became a pioneer in social media and the digital space for Canadian politicians.

New Ways of Communicating with Canadians

While the digital landscape is changing every day, most political party messages get lost in the sea of content that users try to navigate.  While other political parties have struggled to make their communications heard and seen in a noisy digital universe, Poilievre has been able to successfully capture audiences in a variety of new ways.

Remarkably, Poilievre is most known for his ability to keep viewers engaged in long-form content, even though it has traditionally been viewed as less favourable due to viewers’ short attention spans. The Conservative team has figured out a way to keep viewers engaged past your average Reels or TikTok experience. From his 15-minute video explaining the housing crisis (or “Housing Hell” as Poilievre likes to call it), to something as policy wonkish as the marginal effective tax rate (METR), Poilievre has made these abstract ideas into accessible content for everyday Canadians to understand. Impressively, Poilievre has successfully bucked the old comms adage “if you’re explaining, you’re losing.” He is explaining and winning.

Poilievre has been a standout in communications for a long time but since becoming Leader of the Conservatives, he has steadily mastered how to create effective pieces of political communications with b-roll, music, storyboarding, and simplified ideas. Poilievre has consistently uploaded content to social media sites since 2011 and has steadily gained a large following across platforms and increased views on his videos.

Poilievre has also leveraged livestreaming to play to his strengths on several social media platforms for promoting important speeches, press conferences, and getting his message out to followers. Canadians have been able to witness a leader that is articulate and concise off the cuff and experience real time updates inside the halls of Westblock or an authentic selfie video speaking directly to voters. The advantage of using a livestream lets the follower be instantly notified when Poilievre goes live, leading to a large following and an intimate in-the-moment viewing experience.

Since becoming Leader of the Conservative Party, Poilievre has consistently attained over half a million views on YouTube alone, a platform that encourages longer-form videos. The views on his videos have even seemingly pressured Justin Trudeau to try and produce more high-quality long-form videos, mirroring his opponent’s style, as we saw when he released his immigration video just one month ago, or an explainer piece of the controversial Capital Gains tax increase.

Another way of communicating with Canadians that has taken the political media landscape by storm is long-form podcast interviews. Poilievre recently sat down with Jordan Peterson for a 101-minute podcast episode. Polling by David Coletto found that 1 in 5 Canadians have watched all or some of the 101-minute episode. Perhaps we will see more of Poilievre speaking directly to voters by way of free-flowing conversations and working through ideas out loud on popular podcasts like Peterson’s, which quickly amassed over 40 million views and gained cross-border attention.

Drawing a Crowd

While Poilievre has consistently been able to lead in the digital realm, he has also been able to dominate in-person events. In 2024, Poilievre participated in over 600 events, drawing thousands of people. From shop floors to community centers, Poilievre met Canadians across the country. The Conservative team was not only able to capture these events through live feeds of Poilievre’s speeches highlighting the excitement in the room, but he was also able to capture everyday Canadians’ stories.  Poilievre has been known to meet with supporters for several hours after events to hear why they are supporting the Conservatives and what their vision for Canada is. These direct conversations with Canadians show authenticity in his leadership.

Why This Matters to You

Pierre Poilievre has made a point of routinely calling out traditional forms of government relations, stating that fancy Ottawa luncheons and inner-circle lobbyists won’t be awarded an express ticket to meeting with him or his Caucus. Rather, Poilievre has shown a preference for grass roots campaigns and politically engaged C-suites, to ensure that any policy proposals or reforms are aligned with the interests and needs of common Canadians. How are you going to engage with Conservatives and ensure your priorities resonate with a Poilievre led government?

The next federal election could begin as soon as March. It’s time to bring your common sense ideas to the Conservative government in waiting. The team at Counsel is readily equipped to shape your ideas, develop them into compelling policies, and engage the public on your vision. This is how we drive meaningful, positive changes. Are you ready?