Pierre Poilievre and the exhaustion of populism

The Conservative leader’s antagonistic instincts may help him survive a leadership review, but they’re undermining his credibility as a national leader.

The anxieties Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre taps into—including crime, economic precarity, and housing—are real. But where substantive solutions are needed, he defaults to hashtags, columnist Bhagwant Sandhu writes.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY BHAGWANT SANDHU

November 19, 2025

OTTAWA – Few politicians get a second chance. After losing this spring's federal election as well as his seat, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s Alberta byelection win this past summer gave him an chance rarely afforded to defeated leaders: to recast himself as prim...

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