Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre got a warm reception at an “axe the tax” rally in Yellowknife on Sunday.

The rally was Poilievre’s first public event in the Northwest Territories since he took over as Conservative Party leader in 2022.

More than 200 people crowded into a conference room at the Explorer Hotel to hear him share his platform, starting with his plan to end the carbon tax.

“Everything costs more. You make it, Trudeau takes it,” he said.

“How are we going to ship food up to the North when the trucks, the trains, and the planes, are all paying four times more carbon tax than they are already paying?”

The Conservative leader got plenty of applause – and laughs — during the event, using jokes and memes to promote campaign promises like lowering income tax and reducing government spending.

Many people picked up free signs that said ‘protect hunters’ or ‘axe the tax’ before sitting down. (Travis Burke/CBC)

He also emphasized his support for hunters.

“We’re going to respect your right to keep your hunting rifle, protect your traditional way of life, and go after the real criminals instead,” he said, criticizing the Liberal government’s gun policy.

It was Poilievre’s only public appearance during his visit to Yellowknife. CBC requested an interview with Poilievre, but he was not made available.

He was introduced by Kimberly Fairman, the Conservative Party’s official N.W.T. candidate for the next federal election. During her remarks, she encouraged those in attendance to like, comment, and share Poilievre’s social media posts, as well as to donate and volunteer for his campaign.

After he finished his speech, he stuck around for a meet and greet, where supporters could pose for a picture.

N.W.T. Conservative candidate Kimberly Fairman introduced Poilievre. (Sarah Krymalowski/CBC)

Many attendees told CBC they were there to learn more about the Conservative leader.

Brandon Adaams, 24, said his number one concern going into the next election is housing, and he was “on the fence” about Poilievre going into the rally.

“I’ve seen some of his videos and what he talks about, so I think it will be a good thing to listen, hear what he has to say.”

Zina Mikosovic also said she was at the event to learn more. She described herself as a swing voter who didn’t know too much about Poilievre, and was mainly excited about his promises to end the federal carbon tax.

“I think it’s useless,” she said.

After the event, Mikosovic said she liked his ideas about the economy, and was excited about Poilievre’s promise to set up a curriculum that would let students begin to work toward their red seal certification in the trades while in high school.

“I think it was [a] great event, and he was very good. I just don’t agree with the vaccines,” she said, referring to Poilievre’s position against mask mandates and mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for health-care workers, which he mentioned during his speech.

After the rally, Poilievre stuck around for a meet and greet where supporters could pose for a photo with the Conservative leader. (Travis Burke/CBC)

Yellowknife plumber Mike Smith also said he was glad he attended.

“I love it when the leaders come up here and actually show up for the people. I don’t care who they are,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Trudeau, [NDP Leader Jagmeet] Singh, or even this guy; they should come up here a lot more and see what’s going on up here and what the people are dealing with.”

Smith said he liked what he heard from Poilievre, though he felt the Conservative leader didn’t meaningfully address Northern-specific issues or concerns other than the rights of hunters.

Despite that, Smith said he left the rally thinking he would likely vote Conservative in the next election.

“As far as taxes and everything goes, definitely those policies will affect N.W.T.,” he said.

Poilievre is scheduled to be in Iqaluit for another rally on Monday.