Canada: Populist Poilievre wins Conservative leadership in landslide. 330 out of 338 districts.

OTTAWA -

Pierre Poilievre is the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, securing victory on the first ballot after a record-setting and divisive leadership campaign.

After a seven-month campaign, the long-time MP and former cabinet minister from Ontario won the election decisively, securing 22,993 of the just under 33,800 electoral points up for grabs. Poilievre secured support across the country, coming in as members' first choice in almost every riding.

“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, your paycheck, your retirement, your home, your country,” Poilievre said in his first speech as leader on Saturday evening from the Ottawa convention centre floor where the leadership announcement was held.

Receiving 68.15 per cent of the vote, Poilievre far outpaced his progressive Conservative rival and runner up Jean Charest's 16.07 per cent of the vote.

Social conservative and MP Leslyn Lewis placed third, with 9.69 per cent of the vote. Former Ontario MPP Roman Baber placed fourth, with 5.03 per cent of the vote, and mayor-turned-MP Scott Aitchison finished last with 1.06 per cent of the vote.

The unveiling of results of the mail-in ballot election was done in a more pared-down way than initially planned, on account for the country being in an official mourning period given the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A moment of silence and tribute was held before Poilievre was named the winner.

While the party aimed to hold a subdued event, pulling the plug on confetti cannons, the crowd of approximately 1,000 erupted into cheers and some chants of "freedom," when the results were announced.

After Poilievre was cheered up onto the stage, he started his remarks with a message of condolence.

"I feel a small catch in my throat when I utter the words that no leader has stated in this country for over seven decades, God Save the King," he said.

One of the main questions heading into this evening was whether Poilievre was able to take it on the first ballot, a feat last achieved by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2004.

Ahead of the results, Charest’s camp indicated they still felt they had a path to victory, though touting the Poilievre's campaign’s statistics, top adviser Jenni Byrne said they were feeling "pretty good.”

The results were calculated in points, with up to 100 points allocated to each of the 338 ridings. Ultimately there were 33,737 points up for grabs after the verification process was complete, making the threshold needed to win 50 per cent plus one: 16,869, a metric Poilievre considerably exceeded.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/pierre-poilievre-wins-conservative-leadership-on-first-ballot-1.6063223

I know Canada is hardly a relevant country on the world stage but I thought this was pretty neat. Polls indicated he would win, but were off by about 20 points

Good for him. Not the most popular dude, but that's been par for the course for Canadian leadership for a while.

@vl4d_l3nin: His win pretty much guarantees another 4yrs for the Liberals, whenever they choose to force a new election.

@SUD123456: The liberals are the reason why Canada is consistently voted one of, and quite often the best, countries in the world in which to live.

Now he can mobilize the horde of frothing at the mouth conservative karens on everyone else.

Lol it's the zombie apocalypse!!!

@tjandmia: I am Canadian, so I am rather aware of that :)

However, I wouldn't ascribe that to the Liberals. One would be hard pressed to find much actual difference in enacted policy between the Liberals and Conservatives at the Federal level, despite the garbage each espouses at election time. Same suit, red or blue tie.

Just how far right is this loon? We talking Farage luny or MTG luny or La Pen luny AND racist?

He looks like someone who would rat on you for the most mundane thing, just cause.

And Trudeau doesn't?

Harper was an excellent Prime Minister and a conservative, and was in office for nearly 10 years.

Trudeau is at least good at falling down stairs.