Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre delivers his keynote address at the party's national convention in Calgary on Friday.Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press
Pierre Poilievre will remain as leader of the Conservative Party, winning 87.4 per cent of the vote in a leadership review Friday night.
Mr. Poilievre had been expected to survive the review, mandated by his party’s constitution after he failed to defeat the Liberals in the April election.
The Conservative Party said 2,558 ballots were cast, representing 95 per cent of eligible delegates attending the Calgary event.
Mr. Poilievre’s victory cements his control over a party he has worked hard to build out since he won leadership in 2022.
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Ensuring that he won Friday had occupied much of his time in recent months and with the victory now behind him, he can begin to move ahead on winning over Canadians as a whole.
Polls still place his party behind the Liberals, and his personal popularity lags well behind Prime Minister Mark Carney.
He and his inner circle had been talking to convention delegates for months to ensure he would sail through the vote, and they left nothing to chance. As delegates headed to cast their ballot, they were handed small white cards with voting instructions to circle “yes to vote for Pierre.”
The ballot question was simple: Do you think Pierre Poilievre should stay as leader of the Conservative Party?
Mr. Poilievre didn’t directly address the pending vote in his remarks to delegates at the party’s Calgary convention.
Instead, he delivered a campaign-style speech that cracked familiar jokes and revisited many of the same themes he campaigned on last spring – crime, immigration, economic growth.
But he also touched on the pressures inside Canada that have emerged in the months since April: the rising threat of separatism and the global economic instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mr. Poilievre said the last 10 years of Liberal governance left Canadians ashamed of Confederation and led to the reawakening of separatist sentiment.
Ottawa is stomping on Alberta’s energy sector and Quebec’s jurisdiction, he added, a reference to the two provinces where separatist movements are agitating.
“Our message to those youth and to all the people of 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 you have earned,” he said.
Mr. Poilievre’s speech followed a day of grassroots party members venting about the mechanics of the last campaign, and demanding the party make changes to its constitution to give riding associations more freedom.
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Final votes on those proposals will come on Saturday.
Mr. Poilievre acknowledged those frustrations during his remarks, the only reference to lessons learned from the April vote. He thanked delegates for their feedback, mentioning tensions over nominations in particular.
But he signalled while tweaks might be coming, he’s not significantly changing course.
“One of the most important lessons I have gained from listening to you throughout this convention is that you told us to ignore the voices who keep telling us to abandon our conservative principles,” he said.
“We will remain true to our principles.”
The Conservatives had a double-digit polling lead heading into the 2025 election but lost to the Liberals under Mark Carney and his pitch on being the best leader to take on U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Though he did not reference Mr. Trump by name, Mr. Poilievre acknowledged the toll the tariff war is taking.
He said the situation shows Canada cannot rely on others to secure this country’s borders or buy its goods.
“Conservatives renew our good-faith offer to help the Prime Minister and his government get U.S. tariffs removed and open new markets abroad,” he said.
“We will work with the government in any way we can, because Conservatives always put country above party.”
Canadians must remain united, he said. “United and strong, Canadians will bow before no nation anywhere on earth.”
“Canada must make new friends, honour our alliances, and do our part. On resources, trade, diplomacy, foreign aid, and everything else though, it’s clear we must prioritize our national interest above all else.”
Poilievre, alongside his wife Anaida, and children, Cruz and Valentina, waves to the crowd after his keynote address at the convention.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
Mr. Poilievre won leadership of the Conservatives in 2022 with 70 per cent of the vote.
During the early days, he would often use the slogan “Canada is broken,” and focus on a litany of ills he said were the fault of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
Albert Francescut, a delegate from Calgary, said he felt Mr. Poilievre’s address wasn’t weighed down by negativity, particularly toward Mr. Carney.
“I think he’s trying to change his persona a little bit,” Mr. Francescut said. “‘Here’s what we’re going do in the future,’ right? Rather than, ‘Everything’s wrong.’”
Mr. Poilievre’s remarks Friday addressed young voters several times, a key demographic for the party as it has sought to broaden out its base.
Rachel Gililov, 16, and at her first convention, said she appreciated Mr. Poilievre’s focus on the cost of living.
“The fact that he’s really centred around the youth and our futures gives me hope that I won’t have to struggle the way I see my parents do,” she said.
From the outset of the convention, which began on Thursday, Mr. Poilievre’s MPs as well as senior members of the party were making the case for the leader to stay,
Prior to his remarks, videos were broadcast from a cast of prominent conservatives, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, Obby Khan, leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party, adding their names to the pitch for him to stay on.
Robert Staley, who chairs the party’s fundraising arm, had told delegates earlier Friday that the party has had its best three years in its history specifically because of Mr. Poilievre.
“He is tireless in his efforts to elect a Conservative government, and I am confident that he will be elected to lead a Conservative government,” Mr. Staley said.
With a report from Matthew Scace