Federal Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn held a True North Strong and Free election rally in Campbell River Thursday night that drew about 200 attendees.
Introducing Gunn, City Councillor Ben Lanyon said the riding is on the verge of a golden era.
鈥淲e need to make sure we end the litany of Liberal lies once and for all, and then, have a trifecta of municipal conservatives, provincial conservatives, and federal conservatives all advocating at the same time with the same message for this area,鈥� Lanyon said.
During his speech to the enthusiastic crowd, Gunn mentioned on one occasion, in passing, the crippling 25 per cent tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed (and subsequently delayed, in part) on most Canadian goods.
Instead, Gunn stuck to the core messaging of federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, taking aim at Liberal, and provincial and federal NDP policies as attacks on Canadian resource workers and the economy.
The carbon tax, inflation, the budget deficit, getting tough on crime, and eliminating safe supply to deal with the toxic drug crisis also got top billing and applause, as did more support for the military, veterans, and gun owners.
Traditionally, the North Island-Powell River riding鈥檚 economy was resource dependent. However, construction, trades, tourism, service, health and education jobs are outpacing sectors like fishing and forestry, which have suffered dramatic declines. Regardless, the resource economy still makes up 20 per cent of jobs in North Island communities and 13 per cent in the Campbell River region.
Gunn accused the Liberals and NDP of 鈥渂lind allegiance to a green agenda鈥� at the expense of the fishing, forestry and aquaculture sector in the riding, and said resource workers were being sacrificed on the altar of environmental 鈥渆xtremism.鈥�
Gunn, echoing both Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, backed the rapid building of oil and gas pipelines to eastern Canada as a solution to energy independence and less reliance on the United States. The failure to do so by previous governments has left Canada poorer and weaker, he argued, making his only direct reference to the trade tariffs.
鈥淸We鈥檙e] certainly more unprepared for these unjustified and targeted tariffs that have been now placed against us by the United States at a time where we could use our energy independence and energy security more than ever before.鈥�
Gunn didn鈥檛 reference the staggering tariffs Canadian softwood lumber producers are facing or lay out how he and his party would address them to protect the forestry sector in the North Island.
In place since 2015, softwood lumber duties currently at 14.5 per cent, as a U.S. imposed 鈥渁nti-dumping鈥� measure, now face the additional 25 per cent Trump tariff slapped on top. The U.S. Department of Commerce is also suggesting it will nearly double existing duties, leaving the already struggling logging industry facing an existential crisis.
The Conservative party promotes a 鈥渨arrior not woke鈥� culture and will take better care of veterans, prioritize defence of the Arctic, and meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization鈥檚 military funding benchmark of two per cent of Canada鈥檚 gross domestic product (GDP), Gunn said.
鈥淥ur armed forces is under-equipped right now, underfunded, and so entangled in the woke policies that are being pushed down on them from Ottawa,鈥� Gunn said.
鈥淲hat the military should be doing is focusing on national security, national defence and protecting Canada's interest.鈥�
Echoing the purges that have been made across U.S. departments in the weeks since Trump took office, Gunn railed against diversity, equity and inclusion policies in government hiring.
鈥淚f you want to play your little woke experiments, that should be the last place that they should be done. We should be taking the best people to do the job.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 name did come up at the rally when a woman, expressing concerns around transgender issues, asked Gunn if the Conservatives would follow the U.S. president鈥檚 lead in declaring only two genders: male and female.
Gunn noted Poilievre had already done so.
鈥淟ike Pierre said, it's a confusing question; I don't even know what other genders there are,鈥� he said.
He also promised Conservatives would restore Canadians鈥� pride in their history and figures like former Prime Minister John A. Macdonald.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to stop tearing down statues, to stop gutting our museums and to be proud to be Canadian, and have our history once again.鈥�
