Charest could win the next election for the Conservatives, Poilievre can’t

Stephen Harper may reflect the desire of a majority of those eligible to vote in this leadership campaign to have a right-wing rather than a centre-right leader. But he and they are only kidding themselves if they believe that by choosing Poilievre over Charest, they are increasing rather than abandoning their chances of winning the next federal election.

Networking at the Calgary Stampede: Jean Charest, left, greeting a woman, and Pierre Poilievre with a supporter, both pictured at the Calgary Stampede last month. A closer analysis of a recent Angus Reid poll reveals that Charest has the support needed to return the Conservatives to power, while Poilievre would continue the legacy of defeat started by Harper in 2015 and continued under the leadership of Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole, writes Michael Hatfield. Photographs courtesy of Twitter

Opinion

BY MICHAEL HATFIELD

August 4, 2022

After remaining neutral in the past two Conservative leadership campaigns, former party leader and prime minister Stephen Harper recently announced his support for Pierre Poilievre. Harper’s breaking of a long-standing protocol—former leaders don’t interfere in current leadership campaigns—...

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