Pierre Poilievre is the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, securing victory on the first ballot after a record-breaking and divisive leadership campaign. After a seven-month campaign, the longtime Ontario MP and former minister won the election in a landslide, securing 22,993 of just under 33,800 electoral votes. Poilievre secured support across the country, entering as members’ first choice in nearly every riding. “Tonight begins the journey to replace an old government that cost you more and gave you less, with a new government that puts you first, your paycheck, your retirement, your home, your country,” Poilievre told the his first speech as leader on Saturday night from the Ottawa convention center where the leadership announcement took place. Taking 68.15 percent of the vote, Poilievre far outpaced his progressive conservative rival and runner-up Jean Charest with 16.07 percent of the vote. Social conservative and MP Leslyn Lewis came third, with 9.69 per cent of the vote. Former Ontario MP Roman Baber came in fourth, with 5.03 per cent of the vote, and later mayor Scott Aitchison finished last with 1.06 per cent of the vote. The results of the postal vote were revealed in a more limited fashion than originally planned, due to the country being in official mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A minute’s silence and tribute was observed before Poilievre was named the winner. While the party aimed for a low-key event, pulling the plug on the confetti cannons, the crowd of about 1,000 erupted in cheers and some chants of “freedom” when the results were announced. After Poilievre took the stage, he began his remarks with a message of condolence. “I feel a little catch in my throat when I say the words that no leader has said in this country for more than seven decades, God save the king,” he said. One of the main questions asked tonight was whether Poilievre could get it on the first ballot, a feat last accomplished by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2004. Ahead of the results, Charest’s camp said they still felt they had a path to victory, although touting Poilievre’s campaign statistics, top adviser Jenni Byrne said they felt “pretty good.” The results were calculated in points, with up to 100 points in each of the 338 ridings. Ultimately there were 33,737 points up for grabs after the verification process was completed, making the threshold required to earn 50 percent plus one: 16,869, a metric Poilievre significantly surpassed. In an effort to avoid the significant delays seen in the party’s 2020 race due to a mechanical problem that resulted in thousands of ballots being destroyed during the opening, the tabulations began on Saturday. However, the results were about half an hour behind what the party had originally planned. In his speech — his first chance to signal the direction the party is headed and set the tone for his term — Poilievre took the opportunity to outline some of his key commitments and said he would like to thank each of his rivals for their contribution. to the party and the country. “To the supporters of all these good candidates I open my arms. Now, today, we are a party serving a country,” he said. Reacting to the results, Charest thanked his supporters and said he was proud of the campaign they ran, but signaled that Poilievre should be given a “clean slate” chance to unite the party. “We still have a critical role to play in shaping our long-term political agenda and attracting new voters to the Conservative Party. I’ll have more to say tomorrow,” he tweeted. Despite his efforts to extend an olive branch to the party’s progressives, don’t expect Poilievre to take a more moderate approach after the campaign. “What you see is what you get,” Byrne said. “What you should expect to hear from Pierre is exactly what he’s talking about. But it’s going to be mostly about the issues that Canadians care about, and right now the economy is the number one issue.” Poilievre made the pitch Saturday night for a government that offers Canadians hope. “There are people in this country hanging on by a thread… They don’t need a government to run their lives, they need a government that can run a passport office,” Poilievre said to cheers. “They need a prime minister who listens to them and offers them hope that they can again afford to buy a house, a car, pay their bills, buy food, have a secure pension and god forbid realize their dreams if work hard They need a prime minister who will restore that hope, and I will be that prime minister.”

POILIEVRE’S ROAD TO VICTORY

After opting out of the 2020 race citing his family life, Poilievre entered this campaign in full force, framing his race as a premiership race and one that would champion “personal liberty.” 
His campaign’s introductory video, which promises to “put you back in control of your life”, has garnered 4.9 million views since it was posted in February.
With a strong group of seasoned Conservatives behind him, Poilievre has outperformed other leadership candidates in membership registrations and fundraising, raising millions more dollars and from a larger pool of donors than any of his rivals.
The longtime MP for the Ottawa area — first elected federally in 2004 — has been associated with conservative politics from a young age.
Now 43, Poilievre has built a reputation on Parliament Hill as a bit of a swashbuckler, not shy about speaking his mind.  Although he was nicknamed “skippy,” a descriptive term that might fit better now is “scrappy,” as he’s not one to shy away from a political discussion or pull punches when it comes to calling out his opponents.
Poilievre met his wife Anaida who worked in politics and the couple left for Portugal in late 2017, having two children together, Valentina and Cruz.

Anaida Poilievre, wife of Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre, touches his chin as they listen to speeches at the Conservative Party of Canada leadership vote in Ottawa, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang During the leadership campaign it was not uncommon to see Anaida at his side, and Saturday night was no different. Introducing her husband as Canada’s next prime minister, she also took the opportunity to introduce herself, sharing some personal family history, in both official languages. Poilievre and his family currently live in Greely, a suburban-rural neighborhood 30 minutes from Parliament. Born to a teenage mother in Calgary, adopted by teachers from Saskatchewan, Poilievre graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in international relations and a strong interest in conservative activism. Once Stephen Harper’s Conservative government came to power in 2006, Polievre held a series of roles as parliamentary secretary and junior minister. He then became a key critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, from his position on the Official Opposition benches. In that race, Poilievre drew large crowds across the country, with supporters seemingly resonating with his affordability-focused, unapologetic, populist message to “take back control” from the “watchdogs.” According to his campaign, Poilievre held 80 events across the country, to which 93,000 people responded, eventually enrolling more than 300,000 members. A key messaging tool used by Poilievre – who rarely participated in interviews or answered questions from reporters throughout the match – was social media videos that featured him speaking directly to the camera in various scenarios. In the videos he would stick to one topic, offering his take on housing or food prices, for example, explaining why the current government is failing and what he would do differently. His platform included promises to get rid of the carbon tax, lift the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and fire the governor of the Bank of Canada. He said he would gradually eliminate “inflationary deficits” by eliminating spending and reversing liberal policies and programs. Poilievre has also championed cryptocurrencies and backed the “Freedom Convoy,” a pair of positions condemned by some of his opponents as well as members from other parties. A key moment for Poilievre’s campaign was when Harper endorsed Poilievre. In a video released on Twitter, the former prime minister said Poilievre has made the “strongest case” to be able to bring in new party members and win the next general election. Harper did not offer candidate endorsements in the previous two leadership races that saw Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole take the party’s top job. While participating in the first two official party debates, Poilievre came under fire when he decided to skip a third event the party organized after Patrick Brown was expelled. When Brown dropped out of the race, his campaign quickly accused the Conservative Party of acting in favor of Pulyev. Brown claimed Poilievre’s supporters were behind his ouster, which the party has denied.

AFTER SEVEN DIVISIVE MONTHS, CUBA FOR UNITY

The campaign was launched after O’Toole stepped down in February following significant infighting in the wake of his failed 2021 federal election campaign.
Appearing via video message Saturday, O’Toole said the party must put Canadian unity first because frustrations exacerbated by the pandemic are eroding trust and damaging democratic institutions.
“The Conservative Party must be compassionate, because Canadians need to be heard and understood more than ever. And the Conservative Party must be strong – not with the power to…