Canadian Conservative party elects new leader

Almost a 12 months after a defeat in parliamentary elections, the Canadian Conservatives elected a brand new chief on Saturday, selecting right-wing Pierre Poilievre to steer the opposition to premier Justin Trudeau.

Poilievre received 68 % of about 400,000 votes solid by celebration members within the first spherical, placing him properly forward of his foremost competitor, centrist former Quebec premier Jean Charest, with 16.07 %.

Poilievre, 43, beat out 5 contenders for the highest Tory job by railing towards inflation and Covid-19 vaccine mandates, selling cryptocurrencies and pipelines, in addition to backing the trucker-led protest convoy that occupied the capital Ottawa in February.

“Tonight begins the journey to interchange an previous authorities that prices you extra and delivers you much less with a brand new authorities that places you first,” Poilievre mentioned in a speech in Ottawa after his win.

“By tackling Liberal inflation, we’ll put you again in command of your life and your cash,” he mentioned, hitting out at Trudeau’s authorities as “the most costly” within the nation’s historical past.

Trudeau congratulated Poilievre on his win on Twitter, calling for collaboration “to ship outcomes for individuals throughout the nation.”

A veteran politician, Poilievre twice served as a junior minister earlier than Trudeau took workplace and has been elected seven occasions to symbolize a suburban district of Ottawa.

He takes over as celebration chief from an interim head who has held the publish since Erin O’Toole was ousted in February following criticism that he had shifted the celebration too near the political middle.

In September 2021 elections, the Conservatives did not take energy, garnering 119 seats within the Home of Commons in comparison with 160 for Trudeau’s Liberals. The Liberals had been pressured to kind a brand new minority authorities, as in 2019.

The following federal election is about for 2025.

AFP