Poilievre calls N.L. Liberal MPs 'the silent 6' at Corner Brook rally

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke to a crowd of about 150 people at a rally in Corner Brook on Thursday night. He stands next to Carol Anstey, who will run for the party in the next federal election in the Long Range Mountains district. (Alex Kennedy/CBC)

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took swings at the carbon tax and Newfoundland and Labrador's six Liberal members of Parliament during a rally in Corner Brook on Thursday night.

Corner Brook is part of western Newfoundland's Long Range Mountains district, held by Liberal Gudie Hutchings, whom Poilievre called one of the "silent six."

"I call them the silent six because we don't even hear anything from them. I don't even know who they are, and the people in Newfoundland and Labrador don't know who they are either. They're not in the community. They're standing up for Trudeau, rather than standing up for the people," he said.

"And [where] we've seen that most [is] the case with this carbon tax hike. April first, April Fool's Day, the joke is on you."

Poilievre, speaking in Corner Brook the day after a similar rally in Gander, touched on several talking points over the course of about 40 minutes, including the federal carbon tax, the need to build more homes in Canada, cutting spending, and crime.

Poilievre weating a sweatshirt that said "Protect Hunters" on it, also spoke to the crowd of about 150 people about federal legislation that would ban certain rifles and shotguns

WATCH | Poilievre speaks at a rally in Corner Brook:

CBC News asked Poilievre's media team for an interview but was declined. CBC reporters and other members of the media were also asked to leave the room when Poilievre finished his speech and began shaking hands with attendees, with a member of his press team saying the media wasn't welcome at that portion of the event.

Andrew Lushman came to the rally to show support for Poilievre.

"It's my first time seeing him, and I think a lot of his points are very good. And it's good for the working class," he said.

Dan Murphy of Corner Brook came to the rally seeking more information on Poilievre's policies. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

Dan Murphy of Corner Brook came seeking more information about Poilievre.

"We have an election coming up, and it's important to get to know both of the potential leaders, but also to get a grasp of their message and also their vision for the country," Murphy said.

"For Canadians to make a sound decision, you need information. And as a citizen, we're responsible to take what we hear tonight and dig further. Not just hear what we hear here and walk out the door and base our decision on that. Sometimes politicians tend to kind of just throw out the tidbits, and we don't take the responsibility to dig further."

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