Pierre's People

A growing number of millennials and Gen Zers are turning to the right in their bid for a better future. Here, five first-time voters share why they're picking Poilievre.

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Sabastian Marion, 18 International economics student at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

I'M FROM DAWSON CREEK, a rural area in northern B.C. Most people there are conservative, so that’s how I picked up my values. My dad owns a small construction company, and I used to work with him over the summer. He always talked about how taxes were too high. As a business owner, the higher your taxes, the less you can pay your employees, and the less they have to spend. It’s bad for the economy as a whole.

Once I got older, I experienced the impact of taxes for myself. I have less to save for my future. The cost of living in Canada is way too high. We should be one of the most prosperous countries in the world. We have so many natural resources. The Conservatives want to reduce taxes, which will make life more affordable for young people like me. Canada also needs new housing policies. I’m in my first year at UBC, where I have guaranteed accommodations on campus. But next year, I’ll have to move into a shared place off-campus. I’ll probably be paying around $1,300 for a room in a house with six other guys. The Conservatives are planning to increase the housing supply by incentivizing municipalities with perks to increase new housing and reduced red tape to speed up permit approvals.

Instead of raising taxes, Poilievre wants to shrink government spending. I support that: we need to make cuts to social services to get rid of our ballooning deficit. I believe in Pierre’s dollar-for-dollar policy, where for every dollar of government spending, he'll find one dollar of savings. That will reduce the deficit to lower the burden for my generation.