» Polls may give Carney lead but Poilievre firing like a cannon

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No matter how the political experts want to slice it, there was a lot of energy around Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on his first full day of campaigning.

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Poilievre was on fire Monday, clearly hitting the ground running on what he knows is the opportunity of his lifetime to achieve what three Conservative leaders were not able to in prior federal elections.

“Better days are coming,” Poilievre promised. “We are going to help out working people and small business and do a lot of great things together.”

When politicians do campaign stops to slice deli meat or pack up a product, it’s a photo op.  But there is something that can’t be faked – and that is the buzz around the candidate. They either have it or they don’t.

Poilievre made it clear he certainly has it while stumping in Brampton and Mississauga on Monday.

It was like he was shot out of a cannon.

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There were lots of cheers, high fives and handshakes, and the leader seemed to be full of positivity and enthusiasm. He’s in playoff game shape. He’s ready to fight in what is the biggest prize fight of his life — against a very capable and accomplished opponent.

Curious voters appear to be paying attention.

Yet, even with what was a terrific start, an Angus Reid Poll Monday night concluded “the Liberal plane appears to have more lift than those of their political rivals” and “new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds the Liberals turnaround continue to climb in elevation, boosting the party to an eight-point lead (46% to 38%) over the Conservatives” partially in thanks to the “collapse of the NDP vote.”

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I admit I am always suspicious of polls — especially when Mark Carney’s Liberals have had a shaky campaign start with fishermen being locked out of an event in St. John’s, N.L., and people questioning if a campaign ad about Sept. 11th compassion and generosity toward Americans in Gander should have been linked to Carney when he was not part of it?

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Look down the “self-commissioned” poll news release and it admits it’s actually an “online survey,” conducted between March 21-24, “among a representative randomized sample of 2,400 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.”

This is another example of how — in the air — the Liberals have the edge, while on the ground, the momentum seems to be with the Conservatives. The only poll that will count will be on election day — April 28.

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But one thing for sure is the pollsters certainly didn’t ask the thousands of supporters Poilievre has interacted with during his first 24 hours of campaigning. There was great engagement between the Poilievre family and those who turned out to see them.

With Poilievre, it’s a double whammy and I witnessed it first-hand in Brampton at Kruger’s packaging facility and several hours later at Wisla Delicatessen in Mississauga.

At the first stop, Poilievre transitioned perfectly from French to English which would become news later when came word Carney won’t participate in the French language debate. But what jumped out more was how the staff at the giant industrial facility where Poilievre announced he’d cut 15% of their income tax, was the reaction people had to the Poilievre family.

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There seemed to be great excitement at seeing his wife, Anaida, their young son, Cruz, and daughter, Valentina – which shows they are doing this as a family and trying to relate to other families.

A lot of moms and dads seem to get a kick out of it when the perhaps next prime minister carried his kids or put one on his shoulders, ensuring these photo-ops were not boring.

And while many were getting selfie shots with who can soon become Canada’s 25th prime minister, many were also taking pictures with Anaida, whose compelling immigrant story mirrors many of the workers at the 30-year-old Polish delicatessen that employs up to 100 people or the 100-year-old industrial site which staffs 300.

People really seem to like the Poilievres. It’s understandable. They are likeable.

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The other thing that is cool about having the kids as part of these photo-ops is you just don’t know what they are going to do as Wisla butcher, and son of the owners, Paul Barton, learned.

“I just couldn’t get them to eat a piece of the ham,” he teased, adding he understood this completely because with all of this cameras and people there, he was nervous, too.

This stuff brings authenticity, and perhaps even risk, to the campaign. But it’s cool to have a real family out there experiencing the country together and for Canadians to get to know the people who could soon become Canada’s first family.

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