'I'm not running against conservatives,' says Liberal challenger trying to take Poilievre's seat

OTTAWA — While Liberal Leader Mark Carney may be Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s main rival this election, Bruce Fanjoy could be considered his second. Fanjoy is the local Liberal candidate trying to challenge Poilievre for his own seat in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, a contest the Conservative leader has won seven straight times since first becoming elected to the House of Commons in 2004. For voters in this largely rural riding, Poilievre’s name will not only be on the ballot as their local representative, but for the first time as Conservative party leader and possible next prime minister. Although some may assume that boosts Poilievre’s chances in the riding he has held since he was 25, Fanjoy sees Poilievre’s status as a potential prime minister as an opportunity. “Carleton, because of circumstance, has a remarkable opportunity to make a statement on the type of politics and direction that we want Canada to go in,” he told National Post in a recent interview. “Although it’s technically just one of 343 ridings in the election, this one carries extra significance.” That significance has not gone unnoticed by Liberals themselves. In the first week of the federal election, more than 500 volunteers signed up to help, Fanjoy says. While most came from in and around the riding, he says others travelled from Montreal, Toronto and in the case of one woman who holds dual citizenship, New York City. Last Friday morning, which happened to be Good Friday, nearly 30 volunteers descended on a home in Manotick, a suburb in the riding, sipping coffee and gathering around tables, waiting to be assigned to their latest door-knocking rounds. Seated in a back room, Fanjoy credits the buzz he’s seeing around his campaign at least in part to the fact he’s trying to take on Poilievre. He estimates having knocked on more than 15,000 doors over the past two years. Before entering politics, he had a career in business. The party acclaimed him as the official candidate in June 2024. During a recent canvas, Fanjoy jokes that Poilievre had become his “personal trainer” in terms of steps taken, also a nod to the complexities of campaigning in a rural riding. From early on his in political career, Poilievre himself established a reputation as an avid door-knocker with a knack for connecting with constituents. As he grew older, some predicted the young member of Parliament had the talent to one day become prime minister. With less than a week until election day, Poilievre will soon find out whether Canadians trust him with the role. Successive public opinion polls place the Conservatives either tied with or trailing the Liberals. While Carney is pitching himself based on his experience as a former two-time central banker, Poilievre is trying to convince Canadians he is the opportunity for change after nearly a decade of Liberal rule. In terms of Poilievre’s riding, polling aggregator 338canada.com suggests the Conservative leader will likely hold his seat. However, it suggests support for the Liberals has grown since the 2021 federal election, a trend seen across countless other ridings. When Fanjoy characterizes Poilievre, he criticizes him for stoking “divisiveness” and often compares him to U.S. President Donald Trump. It is a well-used line of attack from Liberals and other Poilievre critics and could prove fatal should he fail to show Canadians he represents a sunnier style of conservatism, with many voters seeing red over Trump’s trade war with Canada and his comments about wanting to annex the country. Like other Liberals, Fanjoy describes a marked shift once Carney was elected Liberal leader back in March. He suggests Carney’s win also serves as a good sign for his local race, pointing to how the riding was among the top 10 highest in terms of votes for the new Liberal leader. Another race Fanjoy surprisingly points to is the 2022 Conservative leadership race, which Poilievre won in a whopping first-ballot victory, capturing nearly 70 per cent of the vote. He notes that while Poilievre handily won his riding, some still voted for former Quebec premier Jean Charest, who ran as a moderate, and finished a distant second, which he takes to mean there are some progressive conservatives who dislike Poilievre. “Canada has never had a party leader as right wing as Pierre Poilievre.” That, he hopes, may be enough to sway some voters change their mind. “I respect conservatives. I’m not running against conservatives,” Fanjoy says. “I’m running for Canada against Pierre Poilievre.” Fanjoy made a deliberate choice to try to appeal to those who do not consider themselves traditional Liberals by having a volunteer design his last name on campaign literature and buttons to appear in a pattern of brightly coloured letters. “We wanted people, regardless of who they were, who they’ve supported in the past, that they could see themselves getting behind my campaign,” he says during a recent canvas. As Fanjoy walks, the challenge before him is on full display, not only on the lawns and boulevards around the riding displaying Poilievre’s signs. One man he reminds about early voting politely tells him that after Trudeau, “I’ll never vote Liberal again.” When Fanjoy appears at another door, a woman named Marie-France reminds him how the last time he appeared, she told him that so long as Trudeau was prime minister, she could never vote for him. “Well,” he begins. She then interrupts. “Things have changed,” she says, which Fanjoy repeats, with a laugh. Afterwards, she shares that as a lifelong Liberal, she cannot recall the last time the party’s local candidate came around as frequently as Fanjoy. Still, she hesitates about his chances. “I doubt whether Mr. Fanjoy is going to make it, personally. I don’t know. I think he’s going to continue,  Mr. Poilievre, is going to continue to win this election.” National Post staylor@postmedia.com

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