But broad strokes aren’t enough. We’ve had years of political hedging. Even now, senior Conservatives are still undermining this issue from within, calling for scrapping English language tests or hiding behind “family reunification” — buzzwords that mask the same unsustainable intake. Without clear, measurable targets and timelines for removals, border security, and intake cuts, the promises won’t outlast the next press conference.
The UK is showing us what political courage looks like. Nigel Farage spent years saying what his opponents wouldn’t — and now they’re forced to echo him. Britain’s ruling party is scrambling to pledge lower migration because Farage made it politically impossible not to. Reform UK is now the most trusted party on immigration, and Farage himself is the most trusted leader on the issue — beating even the Prime Minister. Two-thirds of Britons now say migration is too high, and even Keir Starmer, Britain’s liberal PM, is parroting Farage’s warnings, pledging to slash migration and warning the UK could become an “island of strangers.”
That’s what political courage does. It shifts the Overton Wwindow. It forces the cowards to follow. Canada’s Conservatives should take note: speaking the truth about immigration isn’t just right — it’s smart politics.
Poilievre has moved the Conservatives further than Bergen, O’Toole, Ambrose, or Scheer ever did. The question now is whether he’s willing to go the full distance — before Canadians decide someone else will.
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