Right-wing party or populist party? Captive of its base or turned towards the whole of the population? Big existential questions await the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CCP), Pierre Poilievre, crowned on Saturday with 68% of the points in the first round.
For Jean Charest, it’s quite a thaw. The former premier of Quebec won only 16% of the vote. His opponent, though hated by the Quebec caucus of the PCC (with the exception of Pierre Paul-Hus), won 62% of the points in Quebec. He won in all the Quebec ridings where the MP supported Jean Charest (except in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord). This shows how much the belligerent spirit embodied by Mr. Poilievre seduces the conservative base, beyond the interprovincial borders.
Jean Charest just learned a lesson the hard way. He tried to rebuild an image and notoriety in six months, cavalierly neglecting social networks, on which a large part of the electoral campaigns is played. He reminded party activists of his main feats of arms as a Progressive Conservative and guardian of national unity, but they rather remembered that he had abandoned the party for nearly 25 years before rediscovering his clothes. blues in the wardrobe of his ambitions.
The centrism claimed by Mr. Charest did not resist the captivating excesses of polarizing speeches. Throughout the campaign, Pierre Poilievre expressed provocative ideas, not to say eccentric at times. In particular, he touted cryptocurrencies as a bulwark against inflation, denigrating the Central Bank of Canada and Canadian financial and banking institutions. He supported the Freedom Convoy, a movement exploited by the extreme right. He channels resentment and anti-health populism, to the point of attracting far-right groups among his supporters without his seeing this as a credibility problem.
Pierre Poilievre saturated the Conservative vote. He embodies a new force, which the vacillating Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, cannot ignore. The CCP grew to 679,000 members during the campaign, a record. Nearly 438,000 Conservatives voted for the choice of the next leader, another record.
Now, the challenge for Pierre Poilievre is to go beyond the limits imposed on him by this demanding base, which devoured his predecessor, Erin O’Toole, guilty of centrist high treason during the last election campaign.
The challenge is considerable. Social conservatism and revengeful populism are more entrenched in the CCP than ever with its election. The Conservatives risk running into the glass ceiling again that dashed their hopes in the last two elections.
The modern CCP seems unable to address the concerns of voters who seek an alternative to the liberals, but are repelled by populism and social conservatism. However, without these voters, a Conservative victory will remain a beautiful illusion until the coronation of the next savior.
In his victory speech, the new leader clung to the center, focusing on the Trudeau government’s economic record. According to him, it is time to “replace this old government which costs more and delivers less”. His simple allegory (“Your paycheque, your retirement, your house, your country”) is likely to appeal to Canadians concerned as much about the effects of inflation on their purchasing power as about the expansion of bureaucracy. federal and debt. These are classic themes of a healthy and balanced Conservative Party, themes that deserve to be part of the public debate to counterbalance the expansionism of the New Democrat-Liberal couple.
Because of his style, his positions and the acerbic attacks during the leadership race, Pierre Poilievre will have a lot to do to maintain unity within the party and establish his credibility beyond the strictest conservative credo.
This is the moment of truth for the CCP. Pierre Poilievre promised to attack a “centralizing and woke in Ottawa. Above all, he must convince that the pugnacious and demagogue politician in him has the unifying ideas and the makings of a prime minister. Allow us to doubt it.