Conservative Party leader pitches affordability message in Red Deer
Published 5:00 pm Monday, July 6, 2026
By Paul Cowley
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre pitched his affordability message in Red Deer on Monday.
“People cannot afford to pay the bills after 10 years of this Liberal government,” said the Battle River-Crowfoot MP. “Taxes are up. Inflation is up. Crime is up, and you’re paying the price for it all.
“After a year of Mark Carney, we have the worst price inflation of any country in the G7.”
Poilievre said Canada’s inflation is being driven by industrial carbon taxes, an “unrealistic” ban on plastic food packaging and deficit spending.
“Our mission is to bring down all of those costs, to get rid of the industrial carbon tax, to end the inflationary Liberal spending, to bring back the purchasing power of our money.”
Conservatives want to unblock Canada’s resources and sell more oil and gas to the world and to “relieve businesses of the incredible burden of red tape that holds them back.
“Our mission is to make this once again a country where you can afford a great life, afford a home, afford food and afford gas so you can power your family and your life.
“We want to bring back the promise of Canada.”
Poilievre said the government has not recognized Alberta’s success in being a low-carbon energy producer.
The Opposition leader made his comments following a tour of Red Deer’s Permolex facility in Edgar Industrial Park.
Billed as the first of its kind in North America, Permolex combines a flour mill with a gluten plant, ethanol and alcohol plants that produce multiple grades of alcohol for fuel, food and medicines.
Opened in 1998, the facility produces bakery flour, vital wheat gluten, alcohol and livestock feed.
Poilievre pledged to work with the company to push the federal government to provide the support the company needs to get the revenue it deserves.
He said the Conservatives are fighting to end all gas taxes for the rest of the year and to scrap the industrial carbon tax and GST on resold vehicles
“You should only pay the tax once. One and done.”
The industrial carbon tax hits concrete, cement, oil and gas, steel and aluminum industries.
“Also, it indirectly drives up the cost of food and housing. Our belief is that a dollar left in your hands is always more powerful than a dollar in the hands of a politician or the bureaucrat who taxed us.”
Poilievre made similar comments in a speech at the Conservative Party’s annual barbecue in Calgary on Saturday.
He promised to scrap various taxes, would repeal the environmental legislation Bill C-69 to fast-track major projects, to reverse Liberal gun laws and to reverse the B.C. north coast tanker ban.
