Since entering the political arena during the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership race, Leslyn Lewis has continued to stand out for her frankly bizarre positions. The word “eccentric” is not enough to express how unusual this politician is.
Very intelligent, this holder of a doctorate in international law has become the darling of the Canadian religious right thanks to her fierce opposition to abortion and because of her support for parental rights. But it was her incredible declarations on vaccines and the World Health Organization (WHO) that made her the champion of the Canadian fringe of the conspiratorial electorate. Leslyn Lewis made the supposedly malicious aims of the WHO a favorite theme of her Conservative leadership campaign in 2022. She finished in third place, behind Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest, collecting nearly 10% of the points.
Elected MP in 2021 in the Ontario and semi-rural riding of Haldimand-Norfolk, Mme Lewis was removed from then-Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s shadow cabinet as the latter attempted to refocus his party in the wake of that year’s election. Having become chief, Mr. Poilievre appointed Mr.me Lewis criticizes infrastructure and communities in his shadow cabinet. This is a rather secondary position which generally keeps her out of the spotlight. However, this does not prevent him from continuing to spread conspiracy theories.
This week, she invited Canadians, through her account on the X network, to sign a petition she is sponsoring in the House of Commons and which calls for Canada to withdraw from the United Nations (UN ). Nothing less. According to this petition, which has collected nearly 70,000 signatures, Canada’s membership in the UN and its affiliated organizations, including the WHO, “has negative consequences” for the country.
The petition cites as an example the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, also known as Agenda 2030, which would undermine the national sovereignty and personal autonomy of Canadians by imposing international standards in matters of public health and sex education. “These far-reaching impacts on public and private life serve the interests of the UN/WHO and non-elected private entities (e.g., the World Economic Forum, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, etc.), while reducing the health rights and freedoms of Canadians,” it reads.
In short, Mme Lewis is a free spirit who risks seriously harming the CCP during the next election campaign. Mr. Poilievre’s refusal to call his MP to order says a lot about his own political orientations and his tendency to use the same tactics as her to rally far-right voters.
His own attacks on the World Economic Forum bear witness to this. “It is high time that we reject the globalist elites of Davos and bring back common sense to ordinary people,” read a fundraising email Mr. Poilievre sent to CCP members last August. His speech in support of the truckers who invaded downtown Ottawa in 2022 to protest against health policies echoed that of Ms.me Lewis — the only difference being that she seemed to believe deeply in what she was saying.
There is no doubt that the Liberals are keeping in reserve an encyclopedia of Mr. Poilievre’s extraordinary statements which they can use during the next campaign. “If Pierre Poilievre does not agree with the tweet from his shadow minister, he could ask her to remove it. But he won’t do it because that’s how he sees the world,” Mohammad Hussain, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, offered this week.
After all, this is not the first time that Mr. Poilievre has spared his MP after one of his embarrassing escapades. He also refused to blame her after his meeting with MEP Christine Anderson, a fierce critic of Islam and immigration and member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which took place during the visit of the German in Canada, in early 2023. Mr. Poilievre delivered a private warning to Conservative MPs, urging them to avoid associating with controversial figures.
His colleague Colin Carrie publicly apologized for also meeting Mme Anderson. But not Mme Lewis. As if she regretted nothing. His non-apology is a nod to the positions of Mr. Poilievre’s right-wing supporters, which the latter seems to accept without flinching. As if the student had surpassed the master.
The Conservative leader is currently prances in the polls, thanks, above all, to the growing disaffection of Canadians towards Mr. Trudeau. And it may be that the strong desire of Canadians to change government will lead many to turn a blind eye to Ms.me Lewis and Mr. Poilievre’s conspiratorial speeches. However, the aspiring prime minister is taking a huge risk if he bets on this.