In a leaders' debate that was supposed to be all about Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney, Jagmeet Singh ended up stealing the spotlight. While logic would have dictated that Singh set his sights on Carney and win back some of the voters who had fled to the Liberals, he instead took his biggest swipes at Pierre Poilievre — often at Carney’s direct advantage. Whether he was fact-checking Poilievre’s attacks on the Liberal leader or shouting over his remarks (presumably so he couldn’t get a clean clip to share on social media), Singh seemed determined to ruin the Conservative leader’s evening. 

Poilievre may yet pull an increasingly unlikely rabbit out of his hat next Monday. But if he doesn’t, his campaign’s political epitaph — and maybe his own — was being previewed in Thursday’s debate performance. Poilievre has long been defined by his willingness to attack, and it’s what brought him to the brink of the biggest political victory of his life. It’s also what might keep him from actually achieving it. 

That’s because Singh’s willingness to focus more on hurting Poilievre than helping himself is just the latest example of how the Conservative leader’s successes have ultimately led to failure. Whether it was his attacks on the carbon tax, his relentless pursuit of Justin Trudeau, or his attempts to demean and diminish........

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