More than 15,000 people crowded into a Nisku warehouse to get a glimpse of Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre Monday.
Poilievre is making his way across Canada to drum up support ahead of the April 28 Federal Election and was introduced at his Canada First rally Monday by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"Wow, what a fantastic crowd," Harper said to kick off his speech.
"Thank you, Edmonton. Thank you for being here and thank you for making yourself a positive part of the most important decision that this country is going to make in decades. Canada right now needs change, more desperately than it perhaps ever has. It needs someone to lead that change, my friends.
"As someone who had the honour of serving as your Prime Minister, I know that being Prime Minister is a trust. It is a trust to take this incredible country, that our ancestors bequeathed us and to leave it stronger, more united, more compassionate and more confident than we found it. That is what we did, my friends, but that is not the story of the past decade and that has got to change."
Harper spoke for about 10 minutes, exuding heaps of praise on his former cabinet minister.
"I have known Pierre Poilievre for a quarter of a century. Since he was a very young man. The first time I met him, I could see that he was smart, articulate, possessing tremendous passion for our country and strong convictions about sound public policy," Harper said.
"In 2004, during the time of my leadership, Pierre's parliamentary career began. He went progressively from a back bench MP, to a parlimentary secretary, to a junior cabinet minister, to a senior cabinet minister and of course, to party leader. In all of those roles, he worked, he fought and he learned. Because it is not just that Pierre excels in all of those roles. In all of them he grew, he got better and better.
"Friends, don't let anyone tell you that he was born to be Prime Minister or that he can somehow parachute into the job, fully prepared. Political experience, elected accountable political experience and the capacity for growth with that political experience, that is what Pierre has demonstrated for two decades and that is the single most important characteristic a Prime Minister can have."
Harper introduced Poilievre to raucous applause.
"Who is ready for change in Canada?" Poilievre said.
"Who is ready to axe some taxes? Who is ready to build some homes? Who is ready for some pipelines to make us independent from the Americans? And who is ready to put Canada first for a change?
Poilievre said he was happy to be back in his home province of Alberta, to loud cheers.
"It's incredible. Let's bring it home," as the crowd began chants of the campaign slogan.
"This has got to be the biggest political gathering of the 21st century."
The conservative leader spoke about his upbringing in Calgary and trips to Edmonton as a child.
"Even though it was hard times, they could afford to take us on little road trips. They taught us about the Canadian promise. A promise that hard work would pay off. Anyone who got out of bed in the morning and out in some effort, could have a beautiful house on a safe street. Protected by brave troops, under our proud flag. That anyone, from anywhere could do anything. "
He said that over the last 10 years, the Liberal government has betrayed Canadians' trust.
"When this Liberal government first took office, Canada was the richest and safest country anywhere around. We were a beautiful place to live, with boundless opportunity and yet, a decade later, what do we see when we look around us? Inflation already having hit a 40-year high, is now once again on the rise. Housing costs have more than doubled, after the Liberals promised to lower them. Canadian homes now cost 50 per cent more than they do in the United States."
In an announcement Tuesday morning in Edmonton, Poillevre said if elected, he will close offshore tax loopholes, adopted a "Bring It Home Tax Task Force" to make tax rules fairer, simpler and easier to administer, Redirect CRA resources away from auditing and harassing small business owners and charities towards cracking down on offshore tax havens 鈥� collecting at least $1 billion more every year from those who try to hide their wealth overseas.
He also will aim to create a name-and-shame website to expose all the wealthy multinational corporations that are dodging taxes and refusing to pay their fair share, as well as expand the Offshore Tax Informant Program, giving whistleblowers up to 20 per cent of recovered funds when they help expose illegal tax schemes.
The rally came Monday as most national polls indicate the Liberals hold a lead ahead of the April 28 election. IN an Ipsos poll released Sunday, The Liberal Party gained momentum in week two of election campaigning (46%, +2), opening a double-digit lead over Pierre Poilievre鈥檚 Conservatives (34%, -4 pts) among decided voters.
The Liberals hold a lead in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
