The Conservative Party of Canada elects a populist as its new leader

The Canadian Opposition Conservative Party has elected its attack dog as the party's new leader on Saturday.

Pierre Poilievre is an incendiary populist who opposes vaccination mandates and blames inflation in Canada on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He won the party leadership in the first round, defeating a moderate centrist candidate with 68% of the votes cast by party members.

Aged 43, Poilievre is a career politician and served as a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government. He embraced Canadians who were against vaccination mandates and supported the Freedom Truck convoy that crippled Canada's capital and blocked the border with the United States.

“Tonight begins the journey to replace an old government that costs you more and delivers you less with a new government that puts you first,” Poilievre said. “By fighting liberal inflation , we will give you back control of your life and your money."

Poilievre has won the party's base, drawn large crowds and signed up thousands of new members.

Nelson Wiseman, professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said an appropriate US comparison for Poilievre is Republican Senator Ted Cruz, but without the anti-abortion stance.

"He's a right-wing populist," Wiseman said. “Most Canadians recoil from his populism now, but he will tone down some of his positions and soften his language and image. I expect the next election to be about the incumbent, an incumbent with a growing political baggage.

Wiseman said if his rhetoric holds up, he could drop in the polls. "It's a big win for Poilievre, but the conservative membership doesn't reflect the general public well," he said.

Poilievre, who led his campus Conservative Club while in college, served as an MP. since the age of 25.

He called for the removal of Canada's central bank chief, calling him Trudeau's personal ATM. He also promoted cryptocurrency and said he would cut funding for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“It remains to be seen how much he will emphasize populist tropes now that he has secured the leadership of the party and needs to convince people beyond the conservative base to support the party," said Daniel Béland, a politician. science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

In 2005, Poilievre joined other Conservative lawmakers on the losing side of a vote in Parliament to approve same-sex marriage. In 2008, he apologized after questioning whether Canada was 'getting value for all that money' by compensating survivors The country's officials are widely critical of residential schools.

Poilievre is a married father of two who represents a district near Ottawa.He was adopted by two teachers and says he was born in Calgary, Alberta to a teenager who could not raise a child.

Trudeau channeled the star power of his father, the Liberal Party icon and late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, when he first won elections as Prime Minister in 2015 and led his left in the front row in t...