After it received relatively little attention during April's federal election, Conservatives have shifted their focus to immigration concerns. 

And immigration was top of mind for the candidates during Tuesday night's byelection debate in Alberta's Battle River—Crowfoot riding, where Pierre Poilievre is looking to secure a seat so he can return to the House of Commons.

On this week's special Buffalo Roundtable livestream, which focuses on issues facing Western Canada, hosts Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle were joined by political strategist Michael Courus and social media commentator Berta Proud Dad for their reactions to the debate.

During the debate, it wasn't just Poilievre who slammed Canada's immigration failures. Grant Abraham, a critic of the Conservatives and who leads the United Party of Canada, said he felt that multiculturalism had failed, along with Justin Trudeau's declaration that Canada was the first so-called post-national state.

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Abraham was saying “things we probably all wanted to hear from the Conservatives during the last election campaign,” noted Sheila.

“He hit every single note that every Conservative in Western Canada — and Conservatives outside of Western Canada — should believe in,” added Michael Courus, who lamented that those views were unlikely to appeal to voters in Eastern Canada.

Conservatives in Western Canada are “sick and tired of Ottawa ruling over us and being against us every step of the way,” said Berta Proud Dad. “Conservatives out east don't necessarily see that, because they're just used to eastern politics.”

Abraham wasn't the only one calling for a change to Canada's immigration system, as Poilievre said reiterated his stance that Canada “needs to have negative population growth” for “several years.”

The Conservative leader's stronger stance on immigration “would have been great points to make in the lead-up to the federal election,” said Lise, who felt it could have had a “monumental impact” among voters.

“He's not wrong, he's just late,” she added.

Tune in every Wednesday at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) for new Buffalo Roundtable livestreams.