Canada: Who is new Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre?

Canada’s Conservative Party newly-elected leader Pierre Poilievre (L) and his wife Anaida wave to supporters during the Conservative Party Convention at the Shaw Centre on 10 September.

Canada’s new Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to “fight tooth and nail” for Canadians as he sets his sights on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

“Canadians are hurting, and it is our job to transform that hurt into hope,” Mr Poilievre said in his first address to his party caucus on Monday.

Mr Poilievre was elected leader of the Conservative party on Saturday after winning it in a landslide first-ballot victory with nearly 70% of the vote from party members.

Commentators have said the leader of the right-wing party will usher in a new era of populist politics in Canada.

Mr Poilievre, 43, campaigned on a promise to reduce taxes and to tackle inflation and the rising prices of food and petrol, and to increase individual liberties.

He was also a vocal supporter of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa – an anti-government protest against Covid-19 mandates that shut down Ottawa’s city centre for two weeks.

The protest was eventually cleared by police after Mr Trudeau invoked the never before used Emergencies Act , which gives the government added powers in times of national crisis.

Mr Poilievre is now poised to take on Mr Trudeau, 50, who recently said he will be seeking re-election in Canada’s next federal contest, expected in 2025.

The Conservative party, currently the official opposition in Canada’s parliament, has struggled to defeat Mr Trudeau’s Liberals since they took power in 2015.

Mr Poilievre is the party’s third official leader in seven years, raising questions about party unity and the effectiveness of its messaging.

His weekend victory, however, signals a more unified party – he is the first to win leadership by a decisive margin since former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In his remarks since becoming leader, Mr Poilievre has positioned himself as a politician from “humble origins” – he was born to a teenage mother and adopted by two French Canadian teachers from Saskatchewan.

Story continues

He grew up in Calgary before moving to Ottawa, where he has been a federal Member of Parliament for the last 18 years, becoming the youngest member in the House of Commons at age 25 in 2004.

Under Mr Harper’s Conservative government, Mr Poilievre served as parliamentary secretary and was the minister of employment and social development.

After the Conservatives’ defeat to Mr Trudeau’s Liberal party, Mr Poilievre became the opposition’s shadow minister of finance.

He has developed a reputation for hounding the Liberal party on government spending and other government scandals.

Notably, he led a four-day filibuster in the House of Commons in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin scandal, an ethics scandal in which Mr Trudeau was accused of violating conflict of interest rules.

Peter Loewen, the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, describes Mr Poilievre as “ambitious, combative and endlessly energetic”.

“He has been the star of the Conservative movement for a number of years now,” Mr Loewen said.

With the rising cost of living, Mr Poilievre has shifted his focus to fight what he has called “Liberal inflation”.

He has controversially promised to fire the governor of the Bank of Canada if he were to be elected prime minister, blaming the institution in part for rising costs seen in Canada – a position that has been criticised for potentially politicising the role of the central banker.

Mr Poilievre has also vowed to end all remaining federal Covid-19 vaccine mandates and has expressed support for cryptocurrency, promising to make Canada the “blockchain and crypto capital of the world”.

Mr Trudeau congratulated Mr Poilievre on his win but swiftly criticised his politics.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Trudeau called out what he said were “highly questionable, reckless economic ideas” put forward by Mr Poilievre.

He specifically mentioned Mr Poilievre’s remarks on vaccine mandates and cryptocurrency.

“Buzzwords, dog whistles and careless attacks don’t add up to a plan for Canadians,” he said.

Mr Poilievre’s politics, however, appear to resonate, said Garry Keller, a former Conservative staffer and vice-president of Strategy Corp, a government relations consultancy.

His messaging around the cost of living and inflation are especially finding an audience among those frustrated and fatigued due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impact.

“He’s talking directly to the people who clearly felt pain over the last two-and-a-half years,” Mr Keller said.

Opinion polls indicate his message also appears to be attracting the interest of younger voters.

The Conservative party won the popular vote in Canada’s last two federal elections – in 2019 and 2021 – despite failing to clinch enough seats to form government.

Mr Trudeau’s approval rating has been sinking since January amid rising inflation, with about a third of Canadians having a positive impression of the prime minister.

Mr Keller said he believes Mr Poilievre’s decisive win positions the Conservatives as “the Pierre Poilievre party”, much like how the Liberal party image has been closely tied to Mr Trudeau in recent years.

“I think that sets up a very interesting head-to-head battle in the next election,” he said. “If you’re a political junkie, hang on, because it’s going to be one hell of a ride.”