BRANTFORD, Ont. — Federal Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre visited the Roustan Sports hockey stick manufacturing facility in Brantford, Ontario, on Friday, delivering high praise to local employees for preserving a quintessential Canadian manufacturing tradition in the face of mounting U.S. trade challenges.
Poilievre’s tour of the high-profile industrial site marks a significant political milestone for the facility. His visit follows recent stops by federal ministers Evan Solomon and Adam van Koeverden, making it a striking total of three prominent Canadian political figures to tour the Brantford plant in less than two months. The heavy political foot traffic underscores the unique symbolic and economic importance of the factory, which stands as a rare domestic anchor for a product deeply intertwined with Canadian national identity.
During his walk through the facility, Poilievre praised the workforce for their dedication to the craft of stick-making, particularly as the broader Canadian economy navigates complex trade headwinds and ongoing friction with the United States. The Conservative leader was joined on the tour by Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis, who is campaigning for the local Conservative Party of Canada seat in an upcoming, highly anticipated by-election that has yet to be officially scheduled by electoral officials.
Mayor Davis has maintained a close relationship with the manufacturing facility since its inception in the community. As W. Graeme Roustan, the owner and CEO of Roustan Sports, explained to members of the media, Davis has been a steadfast supporter of the business ever since the operation relocated its manufacturing plant from Hespeler, Ontario, to Brantford in 2021. Also in attendance to welcome the federal opposition leader was area Member of Provincial Parliament Will Bouma, reinforcing the cross-level political interest the facility continues to draw from local and national figures alike.
The steady stream of high-ranking Ottawa officials to the Brantford plant highlights how deeply the facility resonates across the political spectrum. Earlier this month, Adam van Koeverden, Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport, toured the Roustan Sports headquarters to examine the operations firsthand. That visit came on the heels of a late-summer trip by federal minister Evan Solomon, who toured the hockey stick factory back in August.
For Roustan, the parade of politicians through his factory floor is a testament to the unique cultural gravity that hockey holds for Canadians.
“All politicians in Canada recognize that hockey is not only our sport but the culture of our country,” Roustan said in an interview with the Brantford Expositor following the visit. “Having the only hockey stick factory in Canada creates a bit of a buzz.”
Roustan noted that the facility’s status as a domestic manufacturing outlier generates considerable fascination among visitors and policymakers alike, offering them a rare look at an industrial process deeply connected to Canada’s national pastime.
“They want to see this place, and walk the factory to see where hockey sticks are made,” Roustan added. “It’s really an experience.”