Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre received an enthusiastic welcome in Castlegar as more than 700 people gathered to hear him speak on Nov. 13.
The Axe the Tax rally was originally scheduled for a Castlegar hotel, but was changed to a large industrial building at Bill's Heavy Duty Enterprises to accommodate a larger crowd.
Poilievre was introduced by Rob Morrison, the Conservative MP for the Kootenay-Columbia riding that includes the East Kootenay as well as Creston and Nelson.
Poilievre broke the ice by reminiscing about how as a child his family had been among the Albertans that "invade" the Kootenays and Okanagan in summer and winter to enjoy the region's lakes and ski hills.
He then highlighted a number of issues and policies that resonated with the crowd including support for the lumber industry, sending prolific offenders to jail, closing drug injection sites while opening treatment centres, making it easier for foreign-trained doctors to work in Canada, protecting hunter's rights, banning the Central Bank from creating a digital currency and staying out of the World Economic Forum.
He promoted his message of "axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime."
Poilievre also discussed his recently announced plan to cut GST on home sales under $1 million and his plans to reduce permitting delays.
Poilievre promised that if he were elected prime minister, he would cap government spending by finding one dollar of savings for every new dollar of spending.
Of particular note among the event's crowd was the number of young adults present.
This was not lost on Poilievre, who pointed it out and said young people are seeing that "easy street leads to a dead end," and are wanting to "take back control of their own lives."
Even though the next federal election could be almost a year away, the event had the feel of a campaign stop and Poilievre made it clear he would welcome an early election.
Poilievre's Castlegar rally was one in a string of visits to the newly reconfigured Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay riding that will be in place for the next federal election. On Nov. 12 he was in Penticton and Princeton and stopped in Grand Forks on Nov. 13 before arriving in Castlegar.
