In a show of support, a labour union has endorsed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada have both endorsed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for prime minister, marking a shift in tone from union support.
Historically, the Boilermakers have never backed the federal Conservatives but they broke precedent on Tuesday with a public statement.
“It is in the interest of moving forward that the Office of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Canada is proud to announce today our endorsement for Pierre Poilievre and all the conservative candidates across Canada in this federal election,” said the union’s vice president, Arnie Stadnick, in an open letter to Canadians.
“Pierre gets it. He knows and understands that the surest and most sustainable route to providing a cleaner environment is through technology, not dismantling our energy sectors, raising taxes, importing energy from other nations, and shipping Canadian jobs abroad.”
The Boilermakers represent about 12,000 skilled trades workers across Canada in industries such as energy production, construction, shipbuilding and manufacturing.
Additionally, the union endorsed Poilievre’s “Boots not Suits” policy, which aims to expand training halls and increase grants and funding to accelerate entry into the licensed trades.
“This plan is designed to strengthen the workforce and reduce reliance on foreign labour, adding 350,000 Canadian workers to job sites over five years,” wrote the Boilermakers union.
The Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada also endorsed the Conservative leader with a statement last week, saying that it “strongly supports the election of Pierre Poilievre as the next Prime Minister of Canada.”
“Canadian business has been undermined for 10 years by the post-national, anti-business Liberal agenda, and the ability of our members to create well-paying jobs has been seriously impaired,” said the coalition’s president Catherine Swift in a statement published Friday.
“Mark Carney, who has been a key advisor to the Trudeau Liberals for years, will continue this destructive approach.”
Citing data compiled by the International Monetary Fund, Swift said that a fourth Liberal term would perpetuate economic policies that have led to the worst growth per capita for Canada among other developed nations.
Calling it “Canada’s lost decade,” Swift said that she’s yet to see any “concern” for small and medium-sized businesses from Liberal Leader Mark Carney.
“His globalist policies only involve large crony capitalists and top-down regulatory overload to the detriment of (small and medium-sized businesses),” she said.
According to the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada, it’s not “surprising that U.S. President Trump recently stated that he would prefer to deal with a Liberal prime minister, as Trump would prefer the weaker economy the Liberals have created and which will continue under Carney’s anti-free market agenda.”
In a recent interview, Trump said he would “rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative” in charge of Canada. Trump claimed that Poilievre was “no friend” of his and that it would be “easier” to deal with Carney in charge of Canada.
