\n<\/p>\n
With his unapologetic conservatism, his vow to fix a \u201cbroken\u201d nation, his \u201ccommon sense\u201d fight against elites and all things woke, his norm-shattering personal attacks against political rivals, his pugilistic use of demeaning nicknames and his open disdain of the news media, Pierre Poilievre<\/a>, the front-runner to become Canada\u2019s next leader, has become a darling of the American right.<\/p>\n Some of President Trump\u2019s most prominent supporters have publicly showered Mr. Poilievre, the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, with compliments \u2014 a remarkable feat given that Canadian opposition leaders tend to attract little attention in the United States, much less praise.<\/p>\n But when Elon Musk, the world\u2019s richest man who is leading an aggressive campaign against the U.S. federal bureaucracy on behalf of Mr. Trump, recently endorsed Mr. Poilievre as Canada\u2019s next leader, Mr. Poilievre found himself in an uncomfortable situation.<\/p>\n Asked at a news conference<\/a> last month whether he accepted the endorsement, Mr. Poilievre said, \u201cMy three-year-old has just told me that he wants to go to Mars, so I guess then Mr. Musk would be the right guy to put him in touch with,\u201d before adding that it would be great if Mr. Musk opened some Tesla factories in Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Poilievre\u2019s backing by people close to Mr. Trump was always a double-edged sword in Canada, where the U.S. president is popular among hardcore conservatives but not among mainstream voters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But that support now risks becoming a liability as Canada confronts a once unimaginable threat: the president of the United States, Canada\u2019s closest ally, repeatedly questioning Canada\u2019s viability as a nation, threatening to annex it through economic force and denigrating its prime minister as a \u201cgovernor.\u201d<\/p>\n As patriotic feelings have surged<\/a> in Canada, Mr. Poilievre\u2019s lead has narrowed significantly in several polls. Until a month ago, Mr. Poilievre, 45, appeared to be a shoo-in to become Canada\u2019s next leader after having built a double-digit lead in the polls by channeling national frustration and anger at the deeply unpopular prime minister, Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n Mr. Trudeau is expected to step down next month as prime minister after his Liberal Party selects a successor, who will automatically become prime minister. A general election is then likely to be held a couple of months later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFor Poilievre, the biggest challenge is that for the last two years the villain in his story was Justin Trudeau,\u201d said David Coletto, the founder of Abacus Data<\/a>, a polling firm. \u201cBut that villain is now leaving, and there\u2019s a new, bigger, badder villain that is coming from outside the country \u2014 and that\u2019s Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Canadians are now trying to figure out is who\u2019s the hero in that story, who\u2019s going to save them and protect them against that threat,\u201d Mr. Coletto added. \u201cAnd the conclusion that more people are going to choose Pierre Poilievre is now up in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Poilievre has responded by toning down his attack-dog persona and by switching to a \u201cCanada First<\/a>\u201d message that he emphasized at a large rally in Ottawa over the weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A spokesman for Mr. Poilievre did not respond to requests for an interview.<\/p>\n Mr. Poilievre\u2019s supporters said he was simply adjusting to external developments and that he remained true to his long-held core conservative principles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ginny Roth, a partner at Crestview Strategy<\/a> and a former communications director for Mr. Poilievre, said that Canada First was \u201ca turning away from a na\u00efve, international liberalism that saw global elites put the interests of their own business and, frankly, coupled with left-wing causes, ahead of the interests of regular working people.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Roth attributed Mr. Poilievre and the Conservatives\u2019 dip in the polls to a blip enjoyed by the Liberals after Mr. Trudeau\u2019s resignation announcement, as well as a temporary \u201crally-around-the-flag\u201d reaction among voters to Mr. Trump\u2019s imposition of tariffs and his annexation threats.<\/p>\n No matter how the polls evolve, Mr. Poilievre\u2019s situation shows how Mr. Trump\u2019s aggressive foreign policy has upended the domestic politics of a major ally, experts said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Trump administration in power again, wreaking havoc in so many ways, including trade with Canada, it puts Mr. Poilievre in a very difficult position,\u201d said Jonathan Malloy<\/a>, an expert on Canadian politics at Carleton University. \u201cI think he\u2019s going to have to differentiate himself from Mr. Trump, much more than he was planning to. His opponents, of course, will accuse him of being Trump-lite.\u201d<\/p>\n A career politician, Mr. Poilievre has been known for his combativeness since being elected to Parliament in 2004 at the age of 25. But it is in the last few years that he has embraced the tactics and messages used by Mr. Trump and others, portraying himself as an outsider fighting against a corrupt political, business, academic and media establishment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He won the leadership of the Conservatives in 2022, after championing more than any other politician the truckers who took over and paralyzed Ottawa, the capital, for weeks to protest anti-COVID mandates. In the past two years, he pummeled Mr. Trudeau and other politicians with a constant barrage of personal insults and attacks that is new to Canadian politics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Poilievre has given rivals insulting nicknames, including \u201cTrust Fund Trudeau\u201d to Mr. Trudeau, the son of a former prime minister, and \u201cSellout Singh\u201d to the leader of the New Democrats, a smaller left-leaning party. Like Mr. Trump, he often says that problems can be solved with \u201ccommon sense\u201d \u2014 a term used by populists to pit ordinary people against a supposedly misguided and corrupt elite, said Emily Laxer, an expert on populism at York University<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Mr. Poilievre\u2019s policies are based on traditional conservative ideas of small government, free market and lower taxes, his populist tactics are a break from the past in Canada, Ms. Laxer said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is evidence of a kind of mimicking of Trump\u2019s messaging and strategy,\u201d Ms. Laxer said. \u201cAnd certainly, they both have benefited from the polarization of their societies, politically, and they\u2019ve contributed to that polarization.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Poilievre\u2019s campaign against what he perceives as woke and the news media, vowing to get rid of the public broadcaster, CBC, has further endeared him to Fox News, Joe Rogan, Mr. Musk and other high-profile supporters of Mr. Trump, who tend to dislike Mr. Trudeau.<\/p>\n Mr. Musk described as a \u201cmasterpiece<\/a>\u201d a video<\/a> in which Mr. Poilievre, while eating an apple, spars with a reporter questioning him about his use of populism. Bill Ackman, the hedge fund billionaire, posted<\/a> that Mr. Poilievre was \u201cextremely impressive\u201d and \u201cshould be Canada\u2019s next leader,\u201d adding, \u201cMake Canada Great Again.\u201d Mr. Musk responded<\/a> with a 100 percent emoji.<\/p>\n