Why Canada's Pierre Poilievre - a sassy conservative who achieved viral fame ... trends now
When Peter Dutton stood up last week and announced he was appointing a young up-and-comer as his new spokesman for home ownership policies, there's a chance Canada was in the back of his mind.
There, after eight years as Canadian PM, Liberal Justin Trudeau is expected to be trounced at the 2025 election by a fiery young conservative, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Poilievre, 44, is winning over Canadian Gen Z and Millennial voters, in part because of his ambitious policies to boost housing - and also because of a viral TV interview moment where he threw a journalist off-kilter while casually munching on an apple.
During a TV interview that became a trainwreck - for the reporter - Poilievre vowed to take action on housing and railed against the country's government. He said that Canadians were living in 'housing hell' after years of left-wing governance - and vowed to rectify the situation.
'There will be a lot of vested interests and bureaucracies that are going to be unhappy when I'm prime minister,' he warned.
Housing is front of mind for millions of Australians, too, amid high interest rates, booming house prices and the years-old debate over the government's negative gearing and housing policies.
Pierre Poilievre, 41, threw a journalist off-kilter in a recent interview as he munched on an apple
It is an issue the Australian Greens, in particular, have capitalised on during Labor's 22 months in power.
Max Chandler-Mather was last week dubbed the true 'opposition' spokesperson on housing.
The young Greens MP frequently gets under the skin of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and has forced several amendments to national policy.
Up until last week, Mr Dutton did not have an official housing spokesperson to represent the Coalition on the issue.
In comes Andrew Bragg, who Mr Dutton has now appointed in the role.
Senator Bragg is a Liberal party moderate, long considered a future candidate for treasury and finance portfolios due to his background in accounting.
He is coming for Max Chandler-Mather's mantle, and Poilievre may have provided the blueprint for him to follow.
Max Chandler-Mather has well and truly earned his title as the true 'opposition' spokesperson on the matter, frequently getting under the skin of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
If Canada were to head to an election today, Mr Trudeau would be handed a crippling defeat at the hands of Mr Poilievre, polls show.
The Conservative Leader is known for his no-nonsense approach to politics, and straight-talking style.
He's already immensely popular - albeit divisive - and his proposed housing policy is offering reassurance to young Canadians struggling to break into the market.
He plans to compel the country's major cities into increasing the number of homes they build by 15 per cent each year.
Any local governments that fail to meet their quota would have their federal grants withheld.
Mr Poilievre said a region that builds just 10 per cent more houses, instead of the 15 per cent target, would lose out on five per cent of its overall federal funding.
If Canada were to head to an election today, Mr Trudeau would be handed a crippling defeat at the hands of Mr Poilievre, polls show
But cities which can exceed their target will enjoy a 'building bonus' as further incentive.
'More homebuilding, more money. Less homebuilding, less money. It will be a highly predictable mathematical formula,' Poilievre said of the carrot-and-stick policy.
He blames the Trudeau government for creating further layers of bureaucracy that are impeding new builds and programs.
Beyond matters of policy, Mr Poilievre is winning over voters for his fiery mannerisms.
One particular video shows an interview he conducted, in which he answers a journalists' questions with precision
