Canadian Conservatives elect "right-wing populist" Pierre Poilievre to lead fight against Justin Trudeau

Toronto — Canada's opposition Conservative Party elected its go-to attack dog as its new party leader Saturday. Pierre Poilievre is a firebrand populist who opposes vaccine mandates and blames global inflation on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He won the party leadership on the first ballot, defeating a moderate, centrist candidate with 68% of the votes cast by the party's members.

The 43-year-old Poilievre is a career politician and was a cabinet minister in then Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government. He embraced Canadians who were against vaccine mandates and supported the freedom truck convoy that paralyzed Canada's capital and blockaded the border with the U.S.

Poilievre won the party base, attracted large crowds and signed up thousands of new members.