In dueling TV ads, NDP and Conservatives try to define Poilievre to union voters

Federal Conservatives and New Democrats agree on very little, but one point of consensus has emerged in recent months — labour issues will play a key role in the next federal election.

Both parties have launched television ads that attempt to define Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre to union voters, a group politicians see as having increased sway in the next federal election.

The commercial the New Democrats launched across the country last week is clearly targeted at its traditional base of rank-and-file union members. It features labour leaders describing Poilievre as a career politician who “has never been a worker and never stood with workers.” Images include shots of party Leader Jagmeet Singh on picket lines in various locales throughout the country.

The Conservatives countered that attack on Monday by releasing an ad of their own. Theirs argues Poilievre will bring a new beginning, “where hard work is rewarded, where there’s affordable food, and a home in a safe neighbourhood where everyone gets a fair shot at a good life.”

After showing images of late night workers such as nurses, servers and truckers, the Conservative party ad closes with a tag line: “after the night, no matter how long or dark, comes morning” as Poilievre appears on screen, smiling in a field at dawn. They also launched an accompanying radio ad attacking Singh for keeping his supply-and-confidence agreement with the minority government.

Both messages appeared to resonate with attendees at Toronto’s annual Labour Day parade, where participants said they’ll be paying attention to promises and actions from both sides.

Workers have been hearing a lot of talk from politicians lately, said Lily Chang, secretary-treasurer at Canadian Labour Congress, but what they really want is to see them put “their money where their mouth is.”

“People need politicians to make policy decisions and to make sure that workers have a chance to thrive,” she said at Monday’s march.

Federal parties have ramped up their efforts to court union votes as the labour movement experiences a renaissance, said George Soule, former NDP communications director, who is now a principal at the strategic communications firm Syntax.

“You see it in the (United) States where the sitting president actually went to a picket line, which by the way I’ll note is a place you’ll never see Pierre Poilievre,” he said in a phone interview.

Since Poilievre became leader two years ago, he’s met with more than 60 unions and visited over 200 traditionally blue collar workplaces such as factories, facilities and mills in eight provinces while claiming other federal parties have abandoned them.

But New Democrats point to his absence on picket lines and his silence after Canada’s two railways locked out its unionized workers, citing them as evidence that Poilievre is a “phony, fake and fraud.”

“You never once hear him talking about corporate greed, never once hear him taking on the big bosses,” said NDP labour critic Matthew Green.

“Instead he hosts these massive fundraisers in these multimillion dollar mansions while going out and putting on a workforce vest, and some fake scuffed up shoes, pretending like he’s been on the front lines the whole time.”

The Conservatives pointed to Poilievre’s recent remarks where he blamed Singh for selling out workers by signing onto a “costly coalition” that he says puts Singh and Trudeau ahead of Canadians.

Michelle Johnston, a union member attending the Toronto parade, described herself as an undecided voter. When she does pick a side, however, she said it will ultimately come down to policies that impact her, such as women’s health care.

“The candidates that are up there, I’m not sure what their position is,” she said regarding parties’ platforms.

Since Poilievre took the party helm two years ago, Conservatives have laid out several policies affecting workers. They include opposing the use of foreign replacement workers at electric vehicle battery plants and imposing tariffs on made-in-China EVs, steel, critical minerals and other products.

His party also supported a bill banning replacement workers, while vowing to keep the law in place if Conservatives form government.

It’s a change in tone from his earlier days in Parliament, where he voted in favour of a private member’s bill that sought to force labour unions to publicly disclose how they spend their money. He also backed another bill that unions said made it harder to organize in federally regulated workplaces.

Both bills were repealed when Liberals came into power.

National opinion polls suggest his shift is resonating with Canadians, as Conservatives have a substantial lead over other parties.

That includes George Smith of Toronto, who said he plans to vote Conservative for the first time in the next federal election.

“Their focus is serving the people and not themselves,” said Smith, who believes that vision will be reflected in their candidates and official election platform.

The Conservatives and New Democrats will soon go head-to-head in another way — at the ballot box in an upcoming byelection in a Winnipeg riding with a history of strong labour and New Democrat ties.

“(Poilievre) is trying to make the point he can take those working class seats. He’s doing a lot of talking, and this is his chance to show if he can actually pull it off,” Soule said.

Conservatives have ramped up their attacks on New Democrats and their leader Singh in recent weeks, and the NDP has reciprocated. Both parties sense change is coming.

“If you want the list of things that Canadians are looking for in the next election, frankly one of them is to replace Justin Trudeau, period, no matter what he does,” said Soule.

“I think it’ll be a pretty blue and orange election. Poilievre and Conservatives spend a lot of money on polling, they see that coming, so they’re putting up that fight early on.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2024.

Mickey Djuric and Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press