'The system isn't working for them': Why young men are rallying around Poilievre

For Cole Theule, age 19, voting day on April 28 will be his first time casting a ballot in a federal election. The Winnipeg native who is studying at the University of Ottawa, comes from a family with a tradition of supporting the New Democratic Party, provincially and federally. His father even worked to help local NDP candidates. “Acceptance, inclusion, encouraging immigration, those kinds of ideas, as well as wealth distribution such as higher taxes for the rich and more government-assisted programs, were all things I was taught growing up,” Theule said. But once Theule moved away from home and began living on his own, he began to question those values. He will be voting for the Conservatives on April 28. “Living on my own has opened my eyes,” said Thuele. “Lots of those economic principles don’t necessarily work, and that’s why I believe… maybe it’s time for a Conservative government,” he said. Thuele said the other political parties are not doing enough to support young people in their daily lives. “What is expected of me is to be financially responsible and support people around me, and I don’t think that an economy run by the Liberals can allow me to do that,” he said. He is not alone. Young men are the most likely demographic to support the Conservatives and leader Pierre Poilievre, according to David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data public opinion researcher. “There’s a general feeling that the system isn’t working well for them right now. They feel isolated. There’s a little bit of disconnection from a lot of the things going on,” said Coletto. Overall, for Gen Z this is a cost-of-living election, finds Abacus Data polling. The demographic places the cost of living as their top concern (46 per cent), followed by housing affordability (33 per cent) and then dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump (23 per cent). In comparison, boomers put dealing with Trump as their first concern above everything else, at 47 per cent. “Today’s youth are like their parents — they’re more concerned about affordability and cost of living,” said Carleton University political science professor Jonathan Malloy. “It’s probably the number one issue you find across all groups in that age.” But while young men are coalescing around the Conservative leader, the movement has not been universal with the age group. A March poll by Abacus Data in March found 41 per cent of men under age 30 supported the Conservatives compared to 23 per cent of young women. Colletto said the difference in political opinion between young men and women is a relatively new phenomenon, and the effects of the change have yet to be seen. “I think it reflects both the cultural and economic changes that we’ve seen around the world,” he said. Constantine Piccone is Theule’s roommate. They decided to live together because they could not afford the costs of living solo. Piccone is also motivated to vote Conservative because he said, “they’ll make the economy a bit better and give us more money to actually cover these costs.” Yet another reason he began aligning himself with political conservatism is his belief that Canada has progressed too far to the left politically. He said young men have been left politically alienated. “I think there’s an epidemic of men right now who are being criticized for normal things men do.” Piccone said a number of his young male friends feel the same way. “There are a lot of (social media) posts going around saying, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be this, shouldn’t be that,” he said. Part of Poilievre’s appeal for young men, said Colletto, is that “they’re attracted to somebody who’s promising to fundamentally change the direction of the country.” While much has been made of the generational divide in the 2025 federal election, a gender gap is widening with men and women showing increasingly different voting intentions and impressions of the main political leaders. At the start of the election campaign, the split between men and women intending to vote for the Liberals was less than one point among all respondents in Abacus polling , with 32 per cent of men versus 31 per cent of women. For the Conservatives, there was a seven-point difference — 39 per cent of men compared with 32 per cent of women. As the campaign has progressed, according to Abacus, 37 per cent of men said they intended to vote Conservative, versus 30 per cent of women – still a seven-point difference. But for the Liberals, a widening gap of men (39 per cent) versus women (35 per cent) reflects the Liberals picking up more male votes from elsewhere, mainly from the NDP. When it comes to impressions of the two main leaders, neither Carney nor Poilievre rate particularly high on “relatability” for both men and women, but the difference is more stark for the Conservative leader, finds Abacus. Thirty-nine per cent of men say Poilievre understands people like them, but among women this is eight points lower.

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The Abacus gender data is from four surveys conducted since the campaign began: A survey of 1,487 18+ adults in Canada from March 17 to 20, a survey of 1,800 18+ adults from March 24 to 26, a survey of 1,763 18+ adults from March 31 to April 3, and 1,900 18+ adults April 3 to 8.