At a recent campaign event in North York, Ont., Pierre Poilievre had just left the podium after answering a media question about an underfunded francophone school when his wife Anaida approached him.
The Conservative leader promptly returned to the podium, saying that his wife had just reminded him to make the point that Liberal Leader Mark Carney does not have an official languages minister.
It wasn’t the first time she’d given her husband some quick advice while still on stage, including reminding him to acknowledge someone in the crowd, for example. But perhaps it’s indicative of the significant role Anaida Poilievre has been playing in the campaign as an effective booster of her husband, a potential softener of his image — but also a key political adviser.
“She certainly is a savvy political operator in her own right,” said Conservative strategist Amanda Galbraith. “She’s not just there for the photo ops.”
‘A pretty powerful speaker’
Carney’s wife Diana Fox Carney and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s wife Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu certainly do not have the campaign exposure of Anaida Poilievre, who has been a regular presence on the campaign trail. She attends events and rallies, giving speeches and appearing with her husband afterward, with the two often sharing public displays of affection.
“She’s actually up there giving major speeches at rallies of thousands of people,” Galbraith said.
But she also “speaks to who he is as a person beyond the politics and the policy, and she’s a pretty powerful speaker,” Galbraith added.
“For the Conservatives to leave that … on the bench, to me would be silly, because I think it is rare,” Galbraith said. “She’s probably better at it than a bunch of politicians that I’ve worked with.”
Poilievre is also very present when her husband is answering reporters’ questions at news conferences. Just recently, she sat beside him in a Global News studio as he was being interviewed by Ben Mulroney.
Typically, political spouses will not be seen full time on the campaign trail, nor at the nightly rallies, Galbraith said.
“But she’s almost certainly his right hand,” she said. “And a strong political figure within sort of his sphere. And I think it’s to his benefit.”
Poilievre’s appearances with her husband certainly softens his image with voters of all stripes, but in particular with women voters, said Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University in Hamilton.
Struggles to gain support among women
Polls show Pierre Poilievre continues to struggle to gain support among women voters. A recent Angus Reid Institute poll found his favourability among women has peaked at one-third among those ages 35 to 54.
“What Pierre Poilievre did not do or was not successful at while he and his party were capitalizing on more women coming over to the Conservatives — he didn’t make much inroads in terms of his own personal favourability among women,” said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute.
Galbraith agreed that Poilievre
