Pierre Poilievre’s campaign slogan salad

Will 'Canada First For A Change' stand the test of the campaign trail?

There you have it - the Conservative Party of Canada’s election campaign slogan: "CANADA FIRST FOR A CHANGE." It likely resonated well in focus groups, blending the party's fresh "Canada First" rallying call with "change," a word that suggests a shift from a decade under Justin Trudeau is both necessary and inevitable.

It will be interesting to see if this slogan maintains its prominence throughout the campaign. History shows us that slogans, no matter how boldly they are plastered on a campaign bus, don't always translate to traction on the campaign trail.

Take, for example, Pierre Poilievre’s closing remarks at his campaign launch on March 25th: “For our home. For Canada First - For a change. Let’s bring it home.” The Poilievres hold a special fondness for the phrase “Bring It Home.” Why? Because Anaida Poilievre coined it, and Pierre appreciates its layered meanings, even if it loses something in French translation. In French, “Bringing back common sense” ("Le gros bon sens") will suffice.

In his speech, Mr. Poilievre also revived some of his familiar themes - chief among them, the notion that Canada is broken. But this time, there’s a new twist to align with the Trumpian mood in Canada: “A new Conservative government will restore the Canadian promise that the Liberals broke.”

This labyrinthine approach to sloganeering must be bewildering for the party apparatus. Until recently, Mr. Poilievre was celebrated as a master of crafting sticky political slogans.

The struggle to find the perfect phrase must also frustrate the campaign’s chief strategist and the architect of Pierre Poilievre’s leadership victory, Jenni Byrne.

I once heard her assert emphatically on the Herle Burly podcast in September 2019 that "slogans do not matter."

To ensure accuracy, here’s a snippet from that conversation with Liberal strategist Scott Reid and David Herle:

Jenni Byrne: "Narratives matter. Slogans do not matter. They can help define the narrative and keep people focused, but at the end of the day, you could knock on a thousand doors and maybe one person can recall your slogan."

Scott Reid: "In the real world, they don't carry weight. They matter only internally, serving as a mirror for what the party already believes rather than as an effective electoral tool."

David Herle: "Honestly, I don’t even remember the slogans from most of the campaigns I’ve worked on."

While Byrne may still believe in the limited impact of slogans, it’s clear that in this campaign, they are meant to “help define the narrative.” So far, it seems the Conservatives are still working on their slogan while flying the campaign plane.