OTTAWA, Sept 11, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Nearly a year after a defeat in

parliamentary elections, the Canadian Conservatives elected a new leader on
Saturday, choosing right-wing Pierre Poilievre to lead the opposition to
premier Justin Trudeau.

Poilievre won 68 percent of about 400,000 votes cast by party members in the
first round, putting him well ahead of his main competitor, centrist former
Quebec premier Jean Charest, with 16.07 percent.

Poilievre, 43, beat out five contenders for the top Tory job by railing
against inflation and Covid-19 vaccine mandates, promoting cryptocurrencies
and pipelines, as well as backing the trucker-led protest convoy that
occupied the capital Ottawa in February.

"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," Poilievre
said in a speech in Ottawa after his win.

"By tackling Liberal inflation, we'll put you back in control of your life
and your money," he said, hitting out at Trudeau's government as "the most
expensive" in the country's history.
 
Trudeau congratulated Poilievre on his win on Twitter, calling for
collaboration "to deliver results for people across the country."

A veteran politician, Poilievre twice served as a junior minister before
Trudeau took office and has been elected seven times to represent a suburban
district of Ottawa.

He takes over as party leader from an interim head who has held the post
since Erin O'Toole was ousted in February following criticism that he had
shifted the party too close to the political center.

In September 2021 elections, the Conservatives failed to take power,
garnering 119 seats in the House of Commons compared to 160 for Trudeau's
Liberals. The Liberals were forced to form a new minority government, as in
2019.

The next federal election is set for 2025.