The Real Story Behind Poilievre's Plan
Pierre Poilievre's 2025 election platform has been branded as a "Common Sense Plan"—focused on four slogans: Axe the Tax, Build the Homes, Fix the Budget, and Stop the Crime. But beneath the bumper-sticker simplicity lies a hard-right agenda with massive implications for Canada's environment, public services, equity, and sovereignty.
Let's cut through the slogans and examine what's actually on offer—and what's dangerously missing.
🌿 NO Meaningful Climate or Clean Energy Plan
What's in the plan?
Scrap the carbon tax (both consumer and industrial).
Repeal clean fuel regulations.
Promote oil, gas, and nuclear energy.
Eliminate incentives for clean energy transitions.
No mention of net-zero, emissions targets, or nature conservation.
What does this mean?
This is a climate rollback: Canada abandons global clean energy leadership.
Clean tech jobs (solar, battery, wind, grid modernization) lose federal backing.
Canada becomes more dependent on fossil fuels while allies move forward.
Global investors may pull back, especially ESG-driven funds.
Urban professionals and younger voters will feel politically abandoned.
💔 Cuts to Social Programs (Without Saying So)
What's in the plan?
A "Pay-As-You-Go" law requiring any new spending to be offset by cuts.
Slashing "waste," "bureaucracy," and "corporate welfare."
No new federal support for seniors, food security, mental health, or low-income Canadians.
What does this mean?
Guaranteed austerity: new programs become nearly impossible to fund.
Cuts will hit housing, public transit, reconciliation, disability supports, and veterans' services.
Food programs, clean water projects, and rural infrastructure are likely on the chopping block.
Childcare, mental health, and seniors' support are erased by omission.
🌍 No Plan to Stand Up to Trump or Tariffs
What's in the plan?
Nothing.
No mention of Trump.
No mention of tariffs.
No plan to protect Canada from U.S. trade aggression.
What does this mean?
Poilievre offers no protection against ongoing U.S. tariffs on aluminum, autos, or fentanyl.
Trumpism goes unchecked; Canada becomes more vulnerable on trade.
Risk of a Canada-U.S. power imbalance where Canada folds instead of fights.
🏥 Privatization by Stealth
What's in the plan?
"Respect provincial jurisdiction" on healthcare and education.
Promotes "freedom" and "choice" language.
Opposes federal child care; calls it "government daycare."
What does this mean?
Opens the door to two-tier healthcare.
Promotes voucher-style or private models in education and early learning.
Risks fragmentation of national services and rights depending on postal code.
Universal programs are replaced with selective access for the most privileged.
🤠 Erasure of Marginalized Communities
What's in the plan?
Not a single mention of:
LGBTQ+ Canadians
Indigenous Peoples
Women's health
People with disabilities
Frames "parental rights" as a core policy point.
What does this mean?
No funding, no protections, no recognition.
Removes LGBTQ+ safety, gender equity, and accessibility from the federal agenda.
Opens the door to culture war politics imported from the U.S.
Indigenous reconciliation, language revitalization, and housing are erased.
🏛️ A Platform Built on Rage, Not Results
Overall Tone:
Weaponizes anger at government, bureaucracy, and "gatekeepers."
Offers tax cuts and deregulation, but little real support for families or workers.
Promotes slogans over substance.
What Canada really needs:
Bold investment in climate leadership.
Strong public health care, child care, and housing.
Policies that protect Canadians from global instability.
A government that brings people together—not one that divides.
Final Word:
Pierre Poilievre may promise to "axe the tax," but what he's really proposing is to axe the future many Canadians have been fighting for: greener, fairer, more inclusive, and more secure.
Don't be fooled by the slogans. This plan cuts far deeper than it says on the label.