Conservatives Select Pierre Poilievre as New Leader

Today the Conservative Party of Canada selected Pierre Poilievre as its new Leader. Poilievre becomes Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and will lead the work in Parliament to hold the Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau to account.

Poilievre has served as a Member of Parliament since 2004. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), Poilievre previously served as Minister for Democratic Reform from 2013 to 2015 and Minister of Employment and Social Development in 2015. He is 43 years old.

Poilievre studied at the University of Calgary, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations. He then worked as an advisor to Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day. Poilievre was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2004 federal election; he at first represented the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean—Carleton and then represented the re-established riding of Carleton. From 2017 to 2022, Poilievre served as the shadow minister for finance and briefly as the shadow minister for jobs and industry.

Following an at-times raucous leadership selection process, Poilievre will need to work in the days and weeks ahead to bring together a caucus that spans centrist fiscal conservatives, far-right social conservatives and everything in between. The specific policy approaches that Poilievre lays out in opposition will give evidence of his electoral strategy and how he intends to govern as Leader of the CPC. This policy mix and positioning of the Party will take the CPC into the next federal election, whenever it does come.

Sussex Strategy Group congratulates Poilievre and his team on this decisive victory and looks forward to continuing to work with the CPC in advancing client objectives.