Poilievre targeting Quebec ridings in summer tour kick-off

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is kicking off his summer tour with several stops in Quebec, CTV News has learned.

The Official Opposition leader will launch his barbecue circuit with a rally in Montreal on Wednesday, before continuing on to make other campaign-style stops in the province.

As the Front Bench panel dug into on Tuesday’s episode of CTV News Channel’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos, where leaders choose to spend their time can be telling as far as their political tactics for the season.

Targeting Quebec has been part of Poilievre’s strategy since becoming leader, and former NDP leader and CTV News analyst Tom Mulcair predicts it’s already poised to pay off for the Conservatives.

“The first seats that will fall into their win columns are seats outside of greater Montreal that right now belong to the Bloc Quebecois,” Mulcair said. “They’re really becoming competitive with the Bloc and a lot of those ridings.”

Former Liberal premier of New Brunswick Brian Gallant noted that based on the current polling, it appears Quebec is “almost the last bastion right now for the Liberals.”

“I’m pretty excited about this summer barbecue tour… It’s going to be a wild amount of adulation,” former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt said.

“Every MP wants him to come into his riding, every prospective candidate wants him in their riding. There’s going to be big crowds, there’s going to be social media.”

Watch the full conversation in the video player at the top of this article.