By Edith Cody-Rice
Mark Bourrie will appear at Mill Street Books in Almonte this coming Saturday April 19, from 10 am to 12 noon to sign copies of his new best selling book Ripper. Mr. Bourrie is one of Canada’s preeminent non-fiction historical writers. He is also a lawyer and journalist. Here is a review of his book
From the title Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre, you might surmise that Mark Bourrie is not a fan. You would be correct. The book is somewhat of a counterpoint to Andrew Lawton’s Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life, published in 2024, in which Poilievre is positively assessed.
Bourrie traces the rise of Pierre Poilievre from his teenage years to his position now as leader of the Conservative Party. Poilievre took up politics as his passion and later profession after his mother took him to a Conservative Riding Association meeting when he was fourteen. He was hooked. From that point on, he began to move in student political circles and graduated over time to the Reform Party and then Conservative party as an adult. Bourrie’s central point is, Pierre Poilievre holds the same views now as he espoused as a teenager. He has never changed.
To give him his due, Bourrie acknowledges Poilievre’s gifts: he is talented, smart, committed, hard working and articulate. But he also benefitted from the particular times in which he came of age. As Bourrie writes in his introduction, “this book is about Pierre Poilievre’s world as much as it is about the man himself.” He states that Poilievre had “almost unique political opportunities that existed in Calgary in the late 1980’s. The Reform party was formed in 1987 splitting the Progressive Conservative party. As Bourrie notes, by 1993, the federal Progressive Conservatives were dead in Alberta. An opportune time to get noticed when ranks are thinned. The teenage Poilievre volunteered for a call centre in aid of Calgary Reform Party candidate Rob Anders. He turned out to excel at cold calling, so much so that he impressed the party. Thus started his long rise in conservative ranks where he has spent his entire adult life.
Poilievre’s real gift to the Conservative Party and what got him noticed was that he saw that journalists need short succinct statements that could make the papers or broadcasts and he learned to deliver pithy quotes and short soundbite slogans that garnered attention, both for him and his party. After he entered parliament, he was the go-to politician for journalists who needed a comment, a dial-a-quote politician, Bourrie calls him. This and his debating skills, which he has honed since youth and used to eviscerate opponents, raised his profile and helped his advance to a cabinet post.
The book traces events that led Poilievre to leadership contention, particularly his embrace of the truckers’ convoy that held Ottawa hostage in 2022 for a winter month as truckers and supporters occupied the Parliament Hill neighbourhood. Participants harassed and frightened local residents with twenty-four hour honking and obnoxious behaviour. Poilievre was on an overpass as the truckers rolled into Ottawa, making a video that ended with the slogan “Truckers, not Trudeau”. Bourrie notes, “The truckers came for Trudeau, but ended up finishing Erin O’Toole’s career as leader of the federal Conservatives.” Poilievre was poised for a leadership run.
Mark Bourrie is a terrific writer. He gives every event interesting context. Even in sections of the book which you might feel could be a bit tedious, his detail of events in parliament and party squabbles, his turn of phrase and wit make it satisfying reading. Also on display is his deep knowledge of Canadian and international politics and modern history in general. And his research into Poilievre is thorough. He knows details down to where Poilievre and his wife had their first date.
This book is a page turner.
Published by Biblioasis
437 pages
Available at MIll Street Books in Almonte
