Amid escalating global tensions and a trade war fuelled by the United States, the federal Conservative Party has launched a nationalist campaign ahead of the federal election. However, Pierre Poilievre’s “Canada First” vision obscures and glorifies Canada’s legacy of exploitation and marginalization.

Last month, Poilievre unveiled his party’s new campaign slogan: Canada First. While the Conservative Party’s messaging appears to be primarily inspired by Donald Trump’s “America First” platform, the slogan itself has roots in white supremacy and racism. Previous “Canada First” movements include an 1868 white nationalist movement that opposed Métis and Cree sovereignty, aiming to establish a new “superior Aryan race” driven by survival in the “rugged north.”

More recently, in 2002, the now-defunct Canada First Immigration Reform Committee served as an organizing space for white power activists opposed to immigration. That website was run by white nationalist Paul Fromm, a former member of the federal Conservative Party who had his membership revoked. In 2021, another Canada First movement emerged, led by white supremacist activist Tyler Russell, who according to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, aimed to “infiltrate Canadian politics to create a white ethnostate in Canada.”The erasure of Canada’s history of ethnic cleansing and racism raises concerns about white supremacist politics becoming more overt and widely accepted.

“Those are very dangerous ideas that constitute erasure. And you know, they’re very white supremacist ideals that [Poilievre] is attempting to paint a narrative through,” Cree author and activist Clayton Thomas-Müller said in an interview with Ricochet.

Misrepresenting Canada’s past and present

Poilievre has framed his “Canada First” slogan as economic nationalism, seeking to strengthen Canada under a banner of national monuments, fossil fuels and nuclear projects, and a rejection of “wokeness.” He argues that Canada must prioritize its own interests in the face of threats of American annexation and tariffs.

The federal Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment.

Poilievre claims his vision of “Canada First” is inclusive, stating he will treat “all people, regardless of their race, as Canadians and Canadians first,” however his rhetoric suggests a more exclusionary agenda. This is evident in his praise for John A. Macdonald, whose legacy is tainted by racist and cruel policies toward Indigenous peoples and immigrants.

“As the party of confederation and John A. Macdonald, we will restore the promise of Canada and our founding leader,” Poilievre said to the crowd at his February 15 rally.

Thomas-Müller argues that glorifying Macdonald, a leader with a well-documented history of racism, is dangerous and demonstrates the seriousness of Poilievre’s messaging.

“Invoking the spirit of John A Macdonald — that guy was everything that they’ve tried to paint as a negative picture about Indigenous peoples… he was like a savage genocidal maniac. He was very cruel and presided over Indian Residential Schools,” Thomas-Müller says.

At his rally, Poilievre also spoke nostalgically about the Canadian Pacific Railway as a cornerstone of Canadian identity. But his portrayal of the Canadian Pacific Railway created a misleading narrative, suggesting a false dichotomy that frames Canada as having been a fair and prosperous nation in the past, while claiming it is hindered now by radical protesters.

Historical records tell a different story. During the 1880s, more than 17,000 Chinese workers were brought to Canada to build the Canadian Pacific Railway under inhumane conditions. The wealth disparity between labourers and executives was immense. For example, a 1882 document shows the railway executive, William Cornelius Van Horne, was paid a substantial salary of $5000 for the month of April (equivalent to over $130,000 adjusted for inflation) for his work, while Chinese and Indigenous labourers worked long hours for slave wages of between $1 to $2.50 per day (approximately $25 to $60 per day adjusted for inflation). These conditions sparked protests and labour organizing among Chinese workers, as well as anti-immigrant sentiment among some white labourers.

Why is this message resonating, despite the dangers of nationalism?

The appeal of nationalist messaging like “Canada First” can be partly understood through the economic failures of both liberal and conservative policies. Historian Dr. Tyler Shipley explains that neoliberal policies have underfunded essential services, leaving many people struggling to afford basic necessities.

“In the absence of an explanation [for people’s suffering], the far-right comes along and finds scapegoats,” Shipley explains. He contends that conservative movements often shift blame away from corporate interests and onto marginalized communities. This type of scapegoating is not new for Canada, but is rather a return to its racist legacy.

“What Canada was, Canada is; it never went away. It never changed… Pierre Poilievre is just tapping into that core that was spoken a bit quieter at times in the last 20 or 30 years,” Shipley says.

Economist and political columnist Erica Ifill also warns against nationalism, calling it a gateway to fascism and white supremacy. “Nationalism is also a great deflection from having actual policy discussions,” Ifill says. 

“It’s responsible for our income inequality and wealth inequality, and those things lead to populism.” 

New Liberal Party leader Mark Carney presents a fresh face in the federal election, with polls showing the Liberals climbing in favourability since Justin Trudeau’s resignation. But for some, Mark Carney represents the same neoliberal policies that have allowed far-right populism re-emerge. 

For Thomas-Müller, Carney’s politics mean “business as usual” during an existential crisis like climate change.

“This austerity circumstance that we’re facing right now in Canada is really impacting poor people, and especially Indigenous peoples. It’s really bad on the reserve right now, and Carney or Poilievre are very distanced from that reality,” Thomas-Müller says.

The Conservative Party’s ‘Canada First’ movement

The Conservative Party’s Canada First campaign outlines a strategy to tackle the trade war with the United States, emphasizing militarization and greenlighting the expansion of fossil fuel and nuclear sectors. In the midst of Canada’s hottest recorded year and a surge in climate-related disasters, Poilievre’s campaign rhetoric has sidelined discussions of the climate crisis, even labeling youth and other climate protesters as “eco-fanatics.”

According to Thomas-Müller, the election of Donald Trump is being used to justify the expansion of industries that exacerbate the climate crisis, along with increased border security that impacts transboundary Indigenous peoples who are “seeing their peaceful lands militarized.” Earlier this year, APTN reported that Native Americans are negatively impacted by issues at the border, adding to the existential threat that many Indigenous communities are already facing from the tariffs, the trade war, and Trump’s repeated calls for annexation.

However, Poilievre made no reference to these issues and instead targeted climate protestors, framing the climate movement as an impediment to economic security and national interests. At a March 2 rally, Poilievre claimed that in order to combat Trump’s tariffs, Canada must reject “the radical ‘keep it in the ground’ environmental agenda.” (The phrase “keep it in the ground” is often a core rallying call for Indigenous climate justice movements). Poilievre’s divisive language targets youth, climate activists, and Indigenous land defenders, seemingly pitting them against other working-class Canadians.

2SLGBTQ+ people have also been targets of Conservative campaigning through messaging and policy stances that align with far-right ideologies. Evan Balgord, the executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said that there is currently “no evidence that the Conservative Party of Canada is aware of the other white nationalist ‘Canada First’ movements,” suggesting that the slogan may have been inspired by the United States Republican “America First” slogan. Balgord notes that many of Poilievre’s statements closely mirror Donald Trump’s discriminatory language.

“He calls diversity, equity, and inclusion programs ‘garbage,’ he blames things on ‘woke,’ and says he’s ‘only aware of two genders,’ doing his part to erase the existence of transgender and gender nonconforming persons,” Balgord said.

Balgord also warns that, regardless of Poilievre’s intentions, such rhetoric could strengthen far-right movements.

“There will be plenty of movements under the far-right umbrella that will be emboldened if Poilievre wins. They will be pressuring the government to undo or fight against anti-discrimination and anti-bullying efforts that benefit 2SLGBTQ+ persons,” Balgord says.

Looking ahead to election season

As Canada approaches the federal election, the resonance of this messaging reflects the financial hardship and failures of our political institutions that have created fertile ground for nationalist and hateful rhetoric.

For Ifill, left-wing politics and investments in the working class could play a role in strengthening resilience against far-right extremism and white supremacy.

“We need left-wing populism in this country… What would be good for Canadians is to fund the welfare state. Fund it better,” Ifill says.

The success or failure of Poilievre’s “Canada First” messaging will likely depend on if progressive politicians can come up with a genuine plan that benefits the working class, rather than enabling the inequities that makes nationalism attractive to voters. Without addressing these issues and protecting human rights and Indigenous sovereignty, Canada risks further polarization and emboldened exclusionary politics.