Pierre Poilievre has received overwhelming support from the Conservative Party of Canada.
Late Friday evening, the party announced a vote result of 87.4 per cent for Poilievre as the leader of the party.
According to a Conservative press release, delegates voted at the national convention in Calgary to forgo a leadership review and in support of Poilievre as party leader.
As required by the Party’s Constitution, an independent Big Four accounting firm was retained to count the ballots cast.
Poilievre, the MP for Battle River- Crowfoot, spoke at the party’s convention on Friday ahead of the vote.
The conservative leader took a familiar tone in criticizing the Liberals’ misguided leadership and the failure of the Canadian people.
“This Liberal government doesn’t just leave people behind. It prices and shuts out youth from homes, workers from jobs, and families from groceries. Simply put, Canadians cannot afford life under the Liberal government,” Poilievre said.
“The government is literally the biggest item in a family budget today. It takes up more money than food, clothing and shelter combined. The cost of government is driving up the cost of living. Taxes and record money-printing deficits are inflating everything. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that as the Liberal government doubled the debt, housing costs and food bank lineups doubled at the very same time.”
Poilievre also addressed the rise of separatist sentiment in both Alberta and Quebec in recent years and blamed the past 10 years of Liberal rule as one of the main reasons for its spread.
“Liberals are in power, and just as night follows day, separatist movements are in resurgence back in Quebec and here in Alberta. These movements which had been dormant or even dead when Prime Minister Harper left office.
Now, we can simply attack people who feel this way. Or we can ask them why. Why, in Alberta and Quebec — why particularly among young people in those provinces — have so many lost hope in Confederation,” Poilievre said.
“For the last 10 years, Ottawa has told our young people that our history is filled with shame and horror, that we are a post-national country with no core identity, and that our youth will never own homes. But other than that, they should feel great about being united in Canada.
“All the while, the federal government stomps on Alberta’s energy sector and Quebec’s jurisdiction.
“Our message to those youth and to all of the people in Alberta and Quebec who are losing hope in our country: you will again have a country that respects your autonomy, is proud of your industries, unites us around our common identity and history, a country that will afford you the hopeful future that you have earned.”
More than 2,500 people attended the Conservative Party of Canada convention at the Big Four building in Calgary, which started on Thursday and wrapped up on Saturday.