Can the opposition hold its own in a Trudeau-free Parliament?

The Conservative Party spent years optimizing itself to defeat Mark Carney's predecessor but the current prime minister has a very different personality; and the NDP is a non-factor in our federal politics—so much so that a real recovery may prove extremely difficult.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, will return to the House of Commons this September where he will face a different prime minister in Mark Carney, not pictured. Interim NDP Leader Don Davies leads a much smaller caucus of seven members after his party lost more than half of its MPs in the 2025 election. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY MATT GURNEY

August 25, 2025

TORONTO—Pierre Poilievre is going back to Parliament. Having easily and decisively won the recent byelection in Alberta, the Conservative leader is assured of soon finding himself across the aisle from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

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