A few rows back from the empty stage, Amanda Mainville burst into tears, and instantly, every camera in the vicinity swung its lens toward her. She shouted an expletive as she wiped her eyes, bathed in the blue light bouncing off the walls and stage.

Fortunately for her, Jon Gurman and his daughter Raquel were standing nearby, ready the moment the mood turned. Mr. Gurman reached into his jacket and produced a plastic canister labelled “Anti-Liberal Wipes" (“Now with extra logic!” was emblazoned across it) and a metal can of “Anti- Liberal Rash Cream." … The previous night, she had attended the big rally in Mr. Poilievre’s riding of Carleton on the outskirts of Ottawa- where, as of this writing, he was behind and at risk of losing his seat to his Liberal challenger. She found it to be a transformative experience, much different from watching his videos online.

“He fills my soul. When I watch him on the lives, it’s one crying, we were in tears,” she said. “You feel from the soul of Pierre, just bringing that out to everybody.”