Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre says he is “very” confident he will be the one to lead his party through the next election.
“I think both January and the next election will go in the right direction,” Poilievre said in an exclusive interview on Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday morning.
In January, Poilievre will face a mandatory leadership review, where his caucus will determine whether or not he will stay on as leader.
The party’s constitution requires members to vote on a leader’s future if they do not step down after an election loss.
It will be the first time Poilievre’s leadership is tested by his party since the Conservatives lost the federal election in April, where Poilievre lost the Ottawa seat he’d held for 20 years.
WATCH | Pierre Poilievre on the future of his leadership:
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre tells CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton he is confident he will remain leader ahead of an upcoming mandatory leadership review.
Despite the loss, the Conservatives picked up 24 new seats and took home 42 per cent of the total votes — a winning figure in almost any other Canadian election.
Poilievre returned to the House of Commons after winning a byelection in the Alberta riding Battle River-Crowfoot in August.
Recently, some Conservative MPs raised doubts about Poilievre’s leadership when he called RCMP leadership ‘despicable.’
Poilievre says he knows the secret to party support: “The same thing I have to do in January is what I have to do on election day, which is a good job.”
“That’s why I believe I’ll win the support of both the party and the country,” Poilievre added.
Second chance?
The last Conservative to stay on as leader after an election loss was Stephen Harper in 2005, who then went on to serve as prime minister for almost 10 years.
The two most recent Conservative leaders, Erin O’Toole and Andrew Scheer, were both booted from the top job following their election losses in 2021 and 2019, respectively.
When asked by Barton if he believes the party will give him a second chance, Poilievre responded, “I think so.”
The full interview with Poilievre will air on Rosemary Barton Live, Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.
