PJ

To people wondering what’s going on with the Conservative Party on Trump, tariffs, etc, look at the bottom line of this survey. Half of Conservative voters are radically out of step with super majorities of the broader public in every region. And they are by far the more voluble half. Amongst very engaged CPC activists (ie party members, donors, people who show up at events, talk to their MPs) the gap with broader public sentiment would be even larger. I suspect something like 3/4 of that cohort are inclined to believe that Canada is more to blame for this conflict than the Trump Administration.. For those who are online, this asymmetry is even greater, with an echo chamber of alt right “influencers” recycling pro MAGA views in a never ending cycle of monetizing anger. We’ve seen similar phenomena with Covid, Ukraine, Alberta separatism, etc. So when you see CPC MPs issuing statements that don’t even mention the US Administration’s provocations and aggression, this is what’s going on. They are typically hearing from a small fraction of the public, the folks they know best and sympathize with most. In this context, Mr. Poilievre deserves great credit for his excellent statement yesterday.