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鈥�(The Conservatives) are gonna give union guys a chance to bring home more of their paychecks,鈥� the 37-year-old told the Star. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand how you can make the argument that Pierre is not supporting the union or the workers.鈥�

Fodey was attending a rally for Poilievre in Vaughan, held at the gleaming headquarters of the Labourers鈥� International Union of North America鈥檚 largest local union, Local 183.

That same Tuesday night, at a smaller rally three provinces away, labour organizer Chris Smalls sang the praises of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Smalls, a star of the modern labour movement for leading the formation of the first ever union at Amazon in 2022, recalled how Singh once travelled to Staten Island, N.Y. to meet with him and his union, and painted Singh and the NDP as inspiring figures to labour activists south of the border.

鈥淚 can tell you now, some prominent politicians that claim to be standing with the working class never showed up, or they had to get called out to show up,鈥� Smalls told an Edmonton crowd. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what kind of leader you guys have, somebody who鈥檚 willing to show up for workers.鈥�

For more than two years聽鈥� since Poilievre became Conservative leader聽鈥斅爐he New Democrats and the Tories have been tied up in a fierce battle for the working class.

Neither Singh nor Poilievre, however, could have foreseen the Liberals鈥� revival under Mark Carney and a volatile trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump that suddenly pushed Canada鈥檚 workers to the forefront of this election campaign.

鈥淭rump has turned the campaign upside down,鈥� said Larry Savage, a labour studies professor at Brock University.

鈥淚 think that there is a shifting landscape of labour politics in Canada, that the NDP is struggling to defend its turf, that the Conservatives are making inroads and that the Liberals are benefiting from Trump’s threats, which are driving 鈥� some union voters into the arms of the Liberals,鈥� Savage added.

One part of the story is the raw numbers, where Singh鈥檚 NDP, the party with the deepest roots in Canada鈥檚 labour movement, holds a vast advantage.

The NDP said they have official backing from three national unions and at least seven local shops. The Conservatives provided endorsements from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Canada, nine locals, and five police associations in Ontario. The Liberals, by contrast, said at least one national union and three regional ones have promised their support.聽

But the unions standing behind the New Democrats represent scores more Canadians: the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and the United Steelworkers alone are home to well over one million workers.

That dwarfs the more than 77,600 people represented by the unions that backed the Liberals. At least 36,150 workers are represented by the unions that backed the Conservatives, though two of them did not respond to the Star’s requests for membership numbers.聽

Another part of the story is where that support is coming from.

Both the Carpenters鈥� Regional Council and the International Union Of Operating Engineers Local 793, which support tens of thousands of workers, backed Doug Ford鈥檚 Progressive Conservatives in Ontario鈥檚 recent campaign.

But they chose to endorse Carney federally, in part due his prior economic experience.

In his endorsement, Tom Cardinal, head of the Carpenters鈥� Regional Council, referenced Liberal pledges like introducing new apprenticeship grants of up to $8,000, expanding the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP), and streamlining mutual recognition of credentials so people can work where they want in Canada.

鈥淏y the end of the provincial election campaign, Ford had racked up nearly 20 formal union endorsements,鈥� Savage said.

鈥淲hen you consider that what Poilievre was trying to do was replicate Doug Ford’s success with the labour vote, I mean, objectively, he’s failing.鈥�

Not everyone agrees with that assessment.

鈥淥ur workers really want change. They feel like they have not been heard,鈥� said Victoria Mancinelli, the director of public relations for the Labourers鈥� International Union of North America (LiUNA) in Canada.

LiUNA Canada, which supports 160,000 workers primarily in construction but also in the health-care and industrial sectors, doesn鈥檛 officially support any federal party, though Mancinelli said internal polling has shown that 65 to 70 per cent of its members back the Poilievre Conservatives.

She told the Star at a Conservative campaign rally in Hamilton earlier this month that those members also feel cast aside by both the Liberals and NDP.

Singh, however, was openly welcomed at a campaign stop Friday at the Ontario Public Service Employees Union鈥檚 annual conference in Toronto, where he was surrounded by delegates thanking him for his advocacy.

In that room, George Wedge, a first-time NDP candidate in Scarborough and the president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario, told the Star he once considered running for Poilievre鈥檚 Conservatives as he grew frustrated by the Liberal government.

鈥淏ut as we started to get closer to the election, the toxicity of the Conservative party really threw me back,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t was very important for me to be in this election on the right side of history, and that’s the NDP.鈥�

In this campaign, the New Democrats have pledged to help low-to-mid income Canadians by expanding the country’s social safety net and making the wealthiest Canadians pay for it. The party has also drawn attention to Poilievre鈥檚 past support for two Conservative private members鈥� bills under the Stephen Harper government, both of which were viewed by critics as 鈥渁nti-union鈥� at the time.

Poilievre admitted as much in his campaign platform, pledging not to reinstate the 鈥渁nti-union bills鈥� and promising not to introduce right-to-work laws.聽He also committed to continuing apprenticeship grants, though up to $4,000, expanding UTIP to train up 350,000 new workers, and harmonizing health and safety regulations across provinces to make it easier for tradespeople to work around the country.

Several of the local unions that endorsed the Conservatives in this contest said Poilievre鈥檚 efforts to meet with them and provide assurances that he would not introduce such legislation was evidence that people聽鈥� and parties聽鈥� can change.

Change, the theme of Poilievre’s campaign, may not be enough under the spectre of Trump.聽

鈥淲hat I’m hearing at the door and from workers, what they鈥檙e saying to me is, 鈥榃e don’t want Pierre Poilievre because we don’t trust him, so we have to vote Liberal in order to make sure we don’t get Poilievre,鈥欌�� said Bea Bruske, the head of the Canadian Labour Congress, whose organization didn鈥檛 endorse a candidate in this election.