Conservative leader Poilievre holding rally in North Bay

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will be making a stop in North Bay on Friday, July 28 to host an “Axe the Tax Rally." 

The rally will take place at the Best Western on Lakeshore Drive at 6 p.m. To register for the event, click here.

This past week, in his quest to unseat the Trudeau Liberals and become prime minister, Poilievre has hosted similar rallies in Kenora, Thunder Bay and Timmins, with events planned for Kapuskasing, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury in advance of his Friday appearance in North Bay.

See related: Poilievre says his policies are 'very popular' with northerners

In April 2022, a Poilievre rally drew a large crowd in North Bay.

See also: Pierre Poilievre is 'running for Prime Minister' and he's coming to North Bay

According to his campaign, Poilievre has held 80 events across the country that 93,000 people signed up to attend — ultimately signing up more than 300,000 members.

Poilievre is polarizing among BayToday readers. In a May BayToday poll, when asked if they have an overall favourable or unfavourable view of Pierre Poilievre, 44.25 per cent of the 7,344 respondents said "Very unfavourable," yet 2,061 or 28.06 per cent voted for "Very favourable," the two most common responses.

See: Pierre Poilievre: Quick facts about the Conservative leader

In 2004, Poilievre became the MP for the riding of Carleton (formerly Nepean—Carleton) and was the youngest MP in parliament. He became a cabinet minister in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s government and has become a fierce critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Poilievre became the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and of the Official Opposition in September 2022, far outpacing his closest rival, Jean Charest. Locally, Poilievre was the resounding choice for local Conservatives in the leadership race.

His campaign focused on removing COVID-19 mandates, his support of the Freedom Convoy, defunding the CBC and promising to run the nation as one would a household.

“We're going to run the finances the way you run your household budget, by living within our means,” said Poilievre last year. “In the real world, you have to make decisions: little Johnny wants to start skiing this year, well, he's got to stop playing hockey; or the family wants to go on a nice big vacation, well, maybe the deck in the backyard will have to wait.”

He also said he would make it easier for the average Canadian by removing the “government gatekeepers” and “red tape.”

At a Sudbury event last year, he welcomed all to his events. “Everyone's welcome,” said Poilievre then. “We believe in free speech, so even the ‘wokesters’ are allowed to come to my rallies if they want.”

With files from Sudbury.com