Conservative Comic-Con

The Backbench

The Canada Strong and Free conference is one of the biggest events of the year for Canadian conservatives. The party is polling high, and this event was set to be a launching point for an upcoming wave of victories. Boris Johnson and former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott were in the house, along with premiers Danielle Smith and Blaine Higgs.

It’s a strange place, where the movement grapples with big topics like climate change, housing costs and foreign policy. What are conservatives talking about? What do they disagree on? We sent our producers Aviva and Sam into the belly of the beast to find out.

Host: Mattea Roach

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Background reading:

• Poilievre pitches ‘common-sense Canadian consensus’ at Canada Strong and Free conference, casts Trudeau as ‘illiberal’ outlier – The Hill Times
• Boris Johnson tells Canadian conservatives that freedom is the key to victory - National Post
• Poilievre attacks Trudeau for not reading intelligence briefing notes, breaking 'with liberalism itself' - National Post

Sponsors: AG1, Rotman

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