Canada's Conservatives are not Trump-style populists

Significance Mulroney represented a centrist strand of conservatism that can appear old-fashioned as current Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre moves the party to the right, but Poilievre does not represent the Trump-style populism with which he is sometimes associated. A Conservative government in Ottawa would pose no threats to Canada’s central democratic institutions. Impacts A move to the political right among younger voters echoes that seen in the United Kingdom and United States during the 1980s. The federal Liberal Party risks losing support from centre-left voters once out of government, with the NDP benefiting in opposition. A Conservative government would potentially cope better with a second Trump administration, but most bilateral challenges would remain.