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.

MP Candice Bergen is currently serving as the Conservatives' interim leader.