Pierre Poilievre’s first words in the House of Commons were a sure sign of things to come
It was October 2004, and though at 25 years old he was one of the youngest faces in the room, he had beenpreparing for this moment.Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc.
“He was fully prepared on day one to stand up in question period and go right after the prime minister,” said Jeremy Harrison, a Saskatchewan cabinet minister and former Conservative MP who was elected in his early 20s alongside Poilievre.Poilievre, one of the first people elected under the banner of the federal Conservative Party of Canada, is now the presumptive front-runner in the contest to become its next leader.
But Poilievre proved himself a quick study and an enthusiastic door-knocker with a knack for connecting with people, including teens he recruited to volunteer on his campaign. Former Tory MP Scott Armstrong remembers that when Poilievre spoke, he and his caucus colleagues would take notes on his delivery.
“I have found it a real struggle to hire people who know how to write in language that real people understand,” he said.Article contentIn 2006, he was caught scoffing “f— you guys” under his breath to members of a parliamentary committee, the young MP wearing glasses, a roomy blue pinstriped jacket and centre-parted hairstyle popular in the late ’90s.
If the brash way that Poilievre presented himself in those early years had significantly evolved over the course of his time in the Commons, Angus would have been there to see it. But he says today that Poilievre “hasn’t really transformed from that.” “He always had a book, or was talking about what he was reading, and asking what the rest of us are reading,” Alexander said.
Scott mused that people already suspicious of the Harper government tended to read ulterior motives into everything Poilievre touched. They’d think, “Because this is Pierre Poilievre, surely something even more is going on,” he said.
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