You're bang on here. We've officially reached the point, as we did in Ontario, where voters are so ready for change that the Conservatives could put forward a cardboard box as leader and they'd still win huge in the election. They will win the next one in a total landslide, guaranteed. I can see a similar rout to the Kim Campbell and Ignatieff losses. This one may be even bigger for the Conservatives because I think the NDP has given the optics of becoming the left wing of the Liberal party, and may get punished almost as much.
With inflation and interest rates combining to really put the squeeze on people's finances, it is inevitable that people will want change, and Poilievre will be the prime beneficiary. The sad part is people will draw all the wrong lessons from the massive victory, and it'll encourage more of the dumbed down populism flowing out of Alberta, and is yet another nail in the coffin for intellectual conservatism. Poilievre will get lots of credit for simply being in the right place at the right time, similar to Dougie.
What we need right now is smart and hard pragmatic leadership, willing to be honest about the things we can no longer afford and the hard decisions that will be required to get through this tough patch with minimal damage. What we'll get (based on past performance) is a lot of scapegoating, finger pointing, and simplistic thinking. Maybe Poilievre will be like Meloni in Italy, and surprise everyone with clear-eyed leadership that's less tied to right/left dogma and more focused on practical solutions. But I have my doubts, as I think ol' Pierre is about half as smart as she is, and the Alberta wing of the party will want their pound of flesh.
(If only the Canadian Future party didn't have such an insanely terrible name. I like their goals, but choosing that name really calls into question their judgement...)
