Under deep cover, Court Painter shadowed Pierre Poilievre, Conservative opposition leader and freshly minted MP for Battle River–Crowfoot, as he worked the phones and plotted his return to the House of Commons as the anti-statesman slash-and-burn political street-fighter.
Alongside Pierre Poilievre, Court Painter has included conservative power brokers and supporters such as former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Reform Party of Canada founder Preston Manning .(plus one American congresswoman, a Canadian media personality and a few extras)
Excepts from: Poilievre is Back…With More of the Same: Lori Turnbull August 28, 2025 Policy Magazine
‘As Labour Day looms, the imminent return of the House of Commons on September 15th means Canadians will see a new political dynamic: the question period face-off between Prime Minister Mark Carney and a Pierre Poilievre fighting for his political life.
That Poilievre is a polarizing figure is not news. The 46-year-old career politician made his reputation as a slash-and-burn political streetfighter whose tactics have always upstaged his policy prescriptions.
But the widespread assumption was that, following both the national election results and Poilievre’s loss of his own riding in April, he would reassess that approach. Instead, Poilievre’s public outings since his expected byelection win in the safe Alberta Tory seat of Battle-River Crowfoot last week have revealed the opposite. Indeed, in one news conference, Poilievre called the Prime Minister a “walking talking broken promise” and said that he was “worse than Trudeau.” Expect a slew of attack ads with a similar refrain.
Though he won the leadership of the Conservative Party handily in 2022, capturing 68% of the vote on the first ballot, Poilievre has not been as successful in connecting broadly with the Canadian public (and with women voters in particular).
Again, if Poilievre largely agrees with what the government is doing, he is more likely to attack Carney on integrity, competence, and effectiveness.
And, even if his negativity burns bridges with some people, Pierre Poilievre will do his level best to convince voters to give Carney a failing grade.’
