Populist Pierre Poilievre seeks leadership of Canada's Conservative Party


Canadian Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre announced Saturday that he is running to become the leader of Canada's Conservative Party and to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister, Bloomberg reported.
"Governments have … caused inflation by borrowing and printing a half-trillion dollars, which has ballooned the assets of the billionaires, the debts of our children, and the cost of living of the working class," Poilievre, who represents the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, said in his announcement video. He also accused Trudeau's government of "[u]sing COVID as a political opportunity."
According to The Globe and Mail, Poilievre, a right-wing populist and supporter of the ongoing Freedom Convoy protest against Canada's COVID-19 policies, is likely to win the coming leadership race. He is popular with the party's base and has been working for months to position himself as the natural successor to Erin O'Toole, who was ousted from party leadership Wednesday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
MP Candice Bergen is currently serving as the Conservatives' interim leader.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
Voting: Trump's ominous war on mail ballots
Feature Donald Trump wants to sign an executive order banning mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterms
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act