OTTAWA — Pierre Poilievre’s crushing win to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada raises questions about the status and power of the party’s social conservatives.
That well-mobilized part of the party’s base has played an important role in helping previous leaders achieve power, with some calling them “kingmakers.”
In the 2020 leadership contest, former leader Erin O’Toole directly appealed to social conservatives — broadly defined as those whose politics are informed by faith-based values, a belief in family and opposition to abortion — to choose him on the party’s ranked ballot.
Andrew Scheer, who himself holds such views, was propelled to victory in the crowded 2017 race thanks to votes that came his way after other social conservative candidates were knocked out of the running.
But Poilievre is different. The 43-year-old longtime member of Parliament won on the first ballot with nearly 70 per cent of support.
Michael Diamond, a Conservative campaign strategist, said Poilievre won by appealing to many interests in the party all at once through a larger message, rather than courting specific groups through direct policy appeals.
Now, Diamond said, “He’s his own man.”
Former Conservative MP Brad Trost ran as a social conservative and placed fourth in the 2017 race. The down-ballot choices of his supporters, not to mention those who voted for other candidates in the running, are believed to have helped Scheer squeeze out a narrow victory.
Trost said while Poilievre’s win will elicit different views about what this means for the role of the social conservatives going forward, he believes the relationship may have become less complicated.
Trost said social conservative voters worried that Scheer and O’Toole would backtrack on the promises made during the leadership campaign once they were in power, and focused on appealing to Canadians more broadly.
O’Toole, for example, drew ire for abandoning a promise he made to protect the conscience rights of nurses and doctors when it comes to referring patients to services they disagreed with, such as abortion, gender-reassignment surgery or medical assistance in dying.
But because Poilievre didn’t make specific promises, Trost said social conservatives aren’t worried about disappointment.
“Pierre is neither social conservative nor anti-social conservative,” said Trost. “He’s a political pragmatist who sits on the right of our party, and I think that makes it a clearer relationship.”
During the race, Poilievre vowed not to reopen the abortion debate but to continue to allow his party’s caucus to have free votes on matters of conscience.
Trost added that there were social conservative members in Poilievre’s leadership organization, including former cabinet minister Gail Shea as well as current MPs John Williamson and Kelly Block.
Still, Poilievre was not the top candidate for two anti-abortion organizations that encouraged supporters to buy memberships to help pick the next leader.
Both RightNow and Campaign Life Coalition endorsed Leslyn Lewis, who was the only candidate to promise some restrictions on abortion.
To the surprise of many, Lewis earned only about nine per cent of support from party members, placing third.
She entered the contest as a rookie MP riding on the popularity she gained during the 2020 contest, where she placed third but won Saskatchewan.
This time around, she faced off against the juggernaut that was Poilievre, who many members felt had a similar appeal, but with a much larger profile and more experience inside Parliament.
Steve Outhouse, Lewis’s campaign manager, said the contest was unique because concerns over COVID-19 lockdowns and mandates played a large role, especially in social conservative circles, in some cases overshadowing their feelings toward abortion.
He said many voting members were directly affected by pandemic-related policies and felt there had been an overreach of government into personal medical decisions.
“Freedom was a top issue for them this voting cycle,” Outhouse said.
“Pierre was very strong on those issues, and clearly a number of social conservatives felt comfortable putting their vote with Mr. Poilievre.”
Lewis also campaigned hard against COVID-19 health measures, but Poilievre outsold her and every other candidate in party memberships.
Despite how Lewis’s results appear, Outhouse said she made improvements from 2020. Her campaign said she earned more first-ballot support, raised more money and earned the endorsement of two more MPs.
Campaign Life Coalition and RightNow, the groups that backed her, said should pick Lewis to serve in a prominent critic role as a sign of respect to the social conservative wing of that party.
Diamond said with his resounding victory, Poilievre already has the coalition’s respect.
“He’s free to build the team he wants.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2022.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
