Poilievre stops in Sudbury as he tours northern Ontario, promises to cut the carbon tax

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre continued his tour of northern Ontario this week and during a stop in Sudbury he shared his plans to cut the Liberal government's carbon tax, build more affordable housing and have stricter laws for violent offenders.

Poilievre has been in northern Ontario all week meeting with supporters and talking about his "common sense" approach to politics.

"The carbon tax does nothing to fight climate change. It has failed," Poilievre told reporters on Friday.

But according to the United Nations, "putting a price on carbon is widely seen as the most cost-effective and flexible way to achieve emission reduction."

Carbon pricing works by shifting the responsibility to greenhouse gas producers by giving them the option to either reduce their emissions, or pay a higher price for their emissions.

Poilievre said his plan to address climate change would be to lower the cost of carbon-free energy alternatives, including hydro electricity projects, nuclear power and tidal power.

He said Canada also has to invest more in carbon capture and storage.

"We need more nuclear power, but it takes 12 to 15 years to get a nuclear plant approved," he said.

"We can do all of the safety and environmental protections for a new nuclear plant in three or four years rather than 15 or 20. What are we learning in years 15 and 16 that we cannot learn in years one or two?"

On violent crime, Poilievre referred to a new Statistics Canada report which says police-reported crime in Canada has increased for the second year in a row, with violent crime reaching its highest point since 2007.

Police reported 874 homicides last year, 78 more than in 2021. The overall rate increased by eight per cent to 2.25 homicides per 100,000 population — the highest rate since 1992, Statistics Canada said in its report.

"We will end Trudeau's catch and release policies and bring jail and not bail. Jail and not bail for repeat violent offenders," Poilievre said Friday.

He said a Conservative government would also "stop giving out tax funded drugs and start giving out treatment, detox and recovery to bring home our loved ones drug free."

But harm reduction organizations like Sudbury's Réseau Access Network argue a safe drug supply would save lives by removing toxic drugs from the supply.

Réseau Access Network operates a supervised consumption site that connects people who use drugs to harm reduction services.

The Safe Health Site Timmins, which also oversees a supervised consumption site, says it had 1,160 visits for that service in May 2023. The site had 1,272 harm reduction visits in the same month.

I think there are a number of winnable ridings [for the Conservatives].- Paul Seccaspina, president, Oraclepoll Research

A Conservative has never won an election in either the Sudbury or Nickel Belt ridings. Both have switched between the Liberals and the NDP.

Poilievre said he believes he can end that streak.

"People in Sudbury want a government that works for the people who work," he said.

And everything has gotten worse for people in Sudbury under Trudeau and his coalition with the NDP."

Pollster Paul Seccaspina, the president of Oraclepoll Research, based in Sudbury, said he expects the Conservatives to make gains in northern Ontario during the next federal election.

"I think there are a number of winnable ridings," he said.

Seccaspina said that in Nickel Belt, for example, if the votes for the Conservatives and People's Party of Canada had been combined, they would have beaten Liberal incumbent Marc Serré.

Serré got 17,358 votes in 2021, and Conservative and People's Party of Canada votes would have combined for 17,974. However, NDP candidate Andréane Simone Chénier finished in third with 13,137 votes.

Seccaspina said issues like the cost of living resonate in northern Ontario, and are areas where the Conservatives are stronger.

"Clearly people are fed up with Trudeau," Seccaspina said.