Poilievre wins Alberta byelection, securing return to House of Commons

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won a critical Alberta byelection on Monday, securing his return to the House of Commons this fall.

Poilievre will now represent the rural Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot, after holding the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton for 20 years.

He was ousted from that riding in April’s federal election by Liberal MP Bruce Fanjoy, forcing Poilievre to seek a new riding and raising questions about his future leading the Conservatives following their defeat to the governing Liberals.

Poilievre was in Camrose Monday as his victory was announced. He thanked his family, former MP Damien Kurek and the voters of Battle River-Crowfoot for their support heading into this byelection.

“Getting to know the people in this region has been the privilege of my life,” said Poilievre to an enthusiastic crowd. “I really love the people of Battle River-Crowfoot… They reinforced a lot of lessons all of us in politics have to learn and relearn again, humility and hard-work, loyalty and love.”

2:03 Poilievre promises to put Canada first in return to House of Commons

Poilievre was introduced to his supporters Monday by their former MP Damien Kurek, who had represented the solidly Conservative riding since 2019. Kurek resigned his seat in June so Poilievre could run in a second chance race.

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“Thank you for coming here to celebrate a victory and another step forward in making Pierre Poilievre Canada’s next Prime Minister,” Kurek said to the cheering crowd.

Political watchers were closely scrutinizing Poilievre’s performance in the byelection. A second loss would have almost certainly triggered pressure for Poilievre to step down as leader and a new leadership race for the Conservatives, who had been hoping Poilievre would finally lead them to government after three straight losses.

Poilievre is still set to face a vote on whether to trigger a leadership review when the party meets for its planned convention next year.

More than 200 candidates in Battle River-Crowfoot sought to challenge Poilievre in a “longest-ballot” protest spearheaded by a group pushing electoral reform. Elections Canada opted to use a special ballot that forced voters to write in the name of their preferred candidate.

Bonnie Critchley, one of 204 Independent candidates running in the riding, says the protest hurt serious contenders like herself, but she is proud of the support she received in the byelection.

1:46 What’s Poilievre’s next challenge after his byelection victory?

“My entire purpose has been to tell Mr. Poilievre that he is not allowed to just walk in, use us as a tool and disappear back to Ottawa,” said Critchley. “I’ve left a very large boot print on the Canadian politiscape, on our elections, to say that a nobody from nowhere can stand up and say enough is enough and the big parties need to pay attention.”

Poilievre will now get the chance to face off with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the House of Commons, after months of being forced to hold press conferences and events outside the chamber to respond to the Liberals and outline Conservative priorities.

“We will put Canada first and we will do so in a way that will make our country self-reliant and make our people capable of earning paycheques that buy affordable food and homes in safe neighbourhoods,” said Poilievre Monday night, adding he is willing to work with any party to make those priorities a reality.

Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who remains an MP, led the party in the House of Commons during the spring session.