Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is in Sudbury for the next couple of days and then he'll be visiting Elliot Lake.
He will be in Elliot Lake on Friday afternoon for an Axe the Tax rally at 6:30 p.m. in the Elliot Lake Granite Sport and Social at 55 Hillside Drive. S. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Poilievre is also touring a local business and meeting with workers in Elliot Lake prior to the rally on Hillside Drive.
His stop in Sudbury began Thursday with a private fundraiser called An Evening with Pierre Poilievre in Support of the Conservative Party of Canada which was hosted at Verdicchio Ristorante.
Poilievre will tour some Sudbury businesses on Friday before heading to the Axe the Tax rally in Elliot Lake on Friday evening.
With echoes of former Ontario PC Premier Mike Harris, Poilievre referred to wanting to run a “common-sense Conservative government” while on his last stop in Sudbury, Jan. 13.
Speaking from the tailgate of a pickup truck, Poilievre was flanked by supporters, including local Conservative candidates Charles Humphrey and Dr. Ian Symington as he addressed the media, before heading to a rally at the Holiday Inn that drew more than 150 supporters.
Campaigning heavily on scrapping carbon pricing, he said he would streamline and speed up the approval of “green technology” as well as making the justice system stricter, changing to “jail, not bail.”
In 2004, Poilievre became the MP for the riding of Carleton (formerly Nepean-Carleton, near Ottawa) and was the youngest MP in parliament. He became a cabinet minister in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government and has become a fierce critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Poilievre became the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and of the Official Opposition in September 2022, far outpacing his closest rival, Jean Charest.
SooToday's Darren Taylor also spoke with Poilievre about his environmental policy, opposition to drug consumption sites, plans to get tough on crime and protect hunters’ rights.