Mike Le Couteur is a senior political correspondent with CTV National News, currently covering the federal Conservative campaign
Here are some observations from having attended a few of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s rallies on the campaign trail so far.
Seen near the entrance is a table of confiscated items that were being held for people to collect on their way out of the rally. There were a number of knives, e-cigarettes, Canadian MAGA hats, one red “Make America Great Again” cap and two signs.
One that said “Klaus Schwab W.E.F. Carney”.
Poilievre has proudly repeated the quote from U.S. President Donald Trump that he’s “not a MAGA guy,” however, there are people with MAGA hats that showed up at the rally.
Thousands of people attended rallies in Hamilton, Ont. and Surrey, B.C. with the CPC staff telling us there were more than 3,000 people in Hamilton on Tuesday night and more than 5,500 in Surrey on Thursday night.
It’s tough to verify that by eye.
The biggest cheers are for lines like “Axe the tax,” “Bring home the jobs”, “banning his ministers from going to the World Economic Forum,” and “defunding the CBC.”
People line up early for these events. Some arrive two hours ahead of time with camping chairs and coffee, even though the doors open around 6 p.m. to let people into the warehouses where these events are being held.
People were upbeat and enthusiastic. A number of them tell us this is their first political event they’ve ever attended or that they’ve driven a significant distance because they thought it would be their only chance to see Poilievre.
For both events, Poilievre was introduced by this wife Anaida Poilievre who warms up the crowd.
Poilievre has taken the stage at around 7:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. each night meaning some people wait more than three hours to see him.
We have seen people leaving early as well. I asked a number of people why they were leaving the event and many said they wanted to beat the traffic, or they had other engagements.
