Pierre Poilievre slams wokeness, promises to repeal C-11 in keynote speech at Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference

Poilievre asked whether everyone misses Stephen Harper and noted how nice it would be to have a Prime Minister who doesn't admire China's basic communist dictatorship, before turning to the issues facing everyday Canadians such as the housing crisis, the high cost of food and heating, rising crime, and the addiction crisis.

"We're more divided than ever, seemingly by design of a Prime Minister who wants to turn citizen against citizen so that he can aggrandize the power of the state," he said.

"Everything feels broken," Poilievre continued. "But the good news is... we're going to transform the hurt that Trudeau caused into the hope that Canadians need."

"We're going to do it by getting back to the common sense of the common people. The common people across this country who carry the nation on their back. The quiet ones, the ones who say little but do much. The people who never show up at protests, don't have money for lobbyists, and have very little influence in political Ottawa."

He continued: "More and more I see them rising up because they feel like they're losing control of their lives. They're rising up because they want to take back control of their lives, and they want to join with us in making Canada the freest nation on Earth, and that is my purpose in running for Prime Minister."

Poilievre then turned to Trudeau's censorship efforts, as well as a general attack on the freedoms of Canadians, pledging to "bring back and bring home freedom to this country again."

He slammed "Woke Inc.," saying "It's about large corporations in regulated oligopolies winning political favor, by throwing around politically correct statements and advancing an agenda that makes no sense to anyone but them."

"This woke movement is an attack on the freedom of speech of ordinary people and the common sense of Canadians, and in Pierre Poilievre Canadians will have someone who will stand up against world corporations and for the rights of every single person to express themselves freely in a free country."

On the topic of internet censorship Bill C-11, Poilievre said "They claim that this is simply to promote Canadian content, although they have yet to tell us what Canadian content actually is. To me, Canadian content is anything that is posted online by a Canadian," he said. "They believe that it's only a small approved list of true experts in Canadiana who can be promoted."

"It's about taking the Broadcasting Act and applying it to the entire Internet. It's about having a small group of unnamed bureaucrats telling Canadians what they can see and say online."

Poilievre blasted the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Psychologists for attacking Jordan Peterson on account of his views, and for retweeting Poilievre himself.

"We have something in our Constitution, called Section 2(b): The freedom of expression. 2(b) or not 2(b), that is the question. My answer is that a Poilievre government will not only repeal the censorship law C-11, but we will require every university that gets federal funds to commit itself to honouring the freedom of expression that we are guaranteed in our Charter of Rights."'

Poilievre also called out Trudeau for denigrating everyday Canadians in order to justify exerting more control.

Poilievre concluded his speech by highlighting how hardworking "ordinary" Canadians from single mothers, to farmers, to electricians, to police officers are extraordinary.

"If you want to see goodness, greatness, and genius, don't look to those above. Look to those all around you. You know we often call these the 'ordinary' people, but I'll tell you, they are not ordinary. They are extraordinary."

"Our jobs my friends are to be the champions of these people, the common people, the common sense of the common people united for our common home. Canada. Your home, my home, our home. Let's bring it home. Thank you very much."