Meet Pierre Poilievre: The Conservative Leader Vying to Be Canada’s Next Prime Minister when Trudeau steps down

1. Canada Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently held a news conference in a hotel ballroom in Ottawa on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. Poilievre mentioned his plans to accelerate approvals for building oil refineries, liquefied natural gas plants, and nuclear facilities. Additionally, he aimed to increase Canada’s electricity surplus with the U.S.

2. During the conference, Poilievre highlighted concerns about Canada selling its oil and gas to the U.S. at significant discounts, which he described as a “ripoff.” He emphasized that this situation results in Canada essentially ripping itself off.

A Poilievre-led government would also embark on “the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history” and that “habitual offenders will not get out of jail anymore,” the Conservative leader said.

On foreign affairs, the Canadian Conservatives’ 2023 policy document states that it would, as government, “take the required steps to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. to close the gaps relating to illegal entries in Canada,” and that the Conservative Party recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Canada’s embassy in Israel is currently in Tel Aviv.

Leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, speaks during at a rally in Edmonton, on March 27, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In a statement released in response to Trudeau’s resignation on Monday, Poilievre said that “this changes nothing” and that a Conservative Canadian government would “take back control of our border, take back control of immigration, take back control of spending, deficits and inflation. Take back control of our streets by locking up criminals, banning drugs, treating addiction and stopping gun smugglers.”

The Conservatives, added Poilievre, “would secure borders, rearm our forces, restore our freedom and put Canada First.”