Inside one Conservative MP’s ‘Restore the North’ tour, a Canadian take on Charlie Kirk’s movement

Last Friday at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Conservative MP Jamil Jivani stood before about 50 students and community members with a question that hung in the air: "How do we restore the North?"

This isn't just a rhetorical exercise for Jivani. As he crisscrosses Canadian campuses, he's bringing a distinctly Canadian spin to the American conservative movement popularized by Charlie Kirk. His "Restore the North" tour aims to spark a nationwide conversation about revitalizing Canada's northern regions while importing Kirk's successful campus organizing model north of the border.

"With one guiding question, I hope to expand this movement and ignite a national conversation," Jivani told the crowd at UTM, where the energy was palpable as students leaned forward, notebooks in hand.

The tour represents an ambitious effort to adapt Kirk's U.S. campus tour strategy for Canadian soil. Where Kirk focuses on American campuses, Jivani is targeting Canadian universities with his own brand of conservative activism, tailored specifically to address Canadian challenges and opportunities.

By asking how to "restore the North," Jivani is touching on complex economic and social issues facing Canada's northern communities. The question invites discussion about everything from economic development to social cohesion in regions that have historically felt overlooked in national conversations.

For students like Sarah Chen, a third-year political science major at UTM, the tour offered a rare opportunity to engage directly with a political figure on the rise. "It's refreshing to see someone trying to bridge the gap between theory and practice," she said after the event. "The 'restore the North' idea really made us think about what that could mean practically."

As Jivani continues his campus tour, he's not just importing ideas – he's cultivating a new generation of Canadian conservative organizers who might one day shape the country's political landscape. The question of "how" remains open, but the conversation has undeniably begun.

Read the original reporting on CBC.