Pierre Poilievre rallies Conservative supporters at Heritage Park during Stampede

Hundreds of people gathered at Heritage Park on Saturday evening for the annual Conservative Party Barbecue, headlined by a speech from Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.

Notable attendees for the event coinciding with the Calgary Stampede included Premier Danielle Smith, Mayor Jeromy Farkas, and politicians representing all levels of government. Alberta-born country artist Brett Kissel also made a surprise appearance, performing a short set before Poilievre's speech. Kissel said he was proud to be both an Albertan and a Canadian.

Poilievre touted his own anti-separatism stance in his remarks, saying: "We want to ensure that, when this is all over, we will once again be fully united as citizens of a common land dedicated to a common purpose of restoring the promise of this country."

He framed that promise as one where working hard and making sacrifices leads to a great life. Much of his speech focused on what he characterized as the failures of Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government, listing promises centred around affordability — including scrapping various taxes, "unlocking" resources, "getting out of the way" of major projects by repealing bill C-69, and reversing the "liberal gun grab."

Poilievre also reiterated his call for Carney to repeal the north coast tanker ban, arguing it would allow a pipeline through northern B.C. He noted that American tankers regularly travel along the B.C. coastline between Alaska and the U.S. west coast, questioning the prohibition of Canadian tankers. He added that the proposed route would take about three days less time to travel to Asia than from Southern B.C.