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In politics, though, the dynamics are a bit different. And that brings us to the curious case of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has returned to the House of Commons after a short period of reflection and winning a safe seat in Alberta. The question isn’t whether he’s back; he certainly is, but whether anyone was really waiting for an encore.

When something is truly back by popular demand, it鈥檚 because it left a hole in people鈥檚 hearts. There鈥檚 a sense of disappointment when it goes away and a genuine sense of excitement when it returns. But in the case of Poilievre, the 鈥渞un鈥� didn鈥檛 end because he was at the height of popularity and then pulled off the stage to the dismay of fans. It ended because he lost his seat and the support that once put his party ahead evaporated.

So here he is again, seemingly playing nice on the first day back, but largely unchanged, stepping back into the limelight without the kind of buildup that a real 鈥減opular demand鈥� moment would require. It鈥檚 a bit like a studio deciding to remake a movie that nobody was really asking for, simply because it was once a hit. It might feel like a safe bet, but it doesn鈥檛 guarantee the audience is going to show up with the same enthusiasm.

Poilievre certainly has a loyal base and there’s a market for what he offers. It鈥檚 not that he doesn鈥檛 have fans. It鈥檚 that the broader electorate wasn鈥檛 left waiting at the door. If anything, his return unchanged may simply remind people that they didn鈥檛 miss him all that much.

His team hasn鈥檛 signalled any reinvention. They appear to be sticking with the same sloganeering and strategies (including using Trumpian language to talk about crime 鈥渞aging out of control鈥� in 鈥渨ar zones鈥� to pitch his 鈥淛ail Not Bail Act鈥�), convinced that the last election outcome was simply a matter of timing.

As campaign chief strategist Jenni Byrne put it on a , the loss was circumstantial, not the result of attacking the Liberals and NDP so aggressively that one leader resigned, replaced by a trusted economist and the other鈥檚 supporters fled to the Liberals.

Her post-mortem takeaway? No campaign is perfect, but there鈥檚 little she would change. Apart from paying more attention to the leader鈥檚 own riding. Why revise the playbook when you鈥檙e certain that, next time, you鈥檒l finally 鈥淏ring It Home?鈥�

But the Liberals should pay close attention to the sequel鈥檚 reception. Sometimes sequels do get a second look when the new release doesn鈥檛 deliver. If the new star, Mark Carney, fails to meet expectations, then audiences sometimes turn back to the familiar, even if they didn鈥檛 initially crave it. In that sense, Poilievre鈥檚 return might yet find its audience if the new act disappoints.

In the end, though, that鈥檚 a big if. Right now, Poilievre is back on stage without that broad groundswell of demand and it remains to be seen if the sequel becomes more appealing over time.

As Poilievre returns to his familiar combative style, he may simply remind Canadians why there wasn鈥檛 a groundswell of longing for his comeback. If anything, he might be confirming that there鈥檚 no fresh wave of enthusiasm for a career politician who鈥檚 been running for prime minister his entire adult life.

鈥淏ack by popular demand鈥� only works if people were actually asking for your return. If they weren鈥檛, it鈥檚 a hard sell for any encore, political or otherwise.