Poilievre faces uncertain future after losing his own seat and failing to depose the Liberals

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 29, 2025 12:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered mixed results for his enactment successful Monday's predetermination — boosting the Tory vote-share to a generational precocious with breakthroughs among caller voting blocs, portion astatine the aforesaid clip failing to unseat Mark Carney and the Liberals from authorities and losing his ain seat.

Only months ago, Poilievre was poised to pb the Conservatives to a historical bulk government, with polls projecting 1 of the astir lopsided spot counts successful 30 years.

In the end, erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau's resignation and U.S. President Donald Trump's commercialized warfare scrambled the electoral equation and Poilievre couldn't deliver connected his committedness of change.

With thousands of beforehand and peculiar ballots inactive near to number — which person skewed Liberal to this constituent — Carney is little than a fistful of seats distant from a bulk government.

Poilievre vowed to enactment connected arsenic enactment person contempt the disappointing last result, telling his supporters successful Ottawa aboriginal Tuesday that helium needs much clip to thrust a involvement done the Liberals erstwhile and for all.

"We didn't rather get implicit the decorativeness enactment — yet. We cognize that alteration is needed, but alteration is hard to travel by. It takes time. It takes work," Poilievre said.

FULL SPEECH | Poilievre says helium intends to enactment connected arsenic Conservative leader

Jamie Ellerton, a Conservative strategist who worked for past leader Erin O'Toole, said Poilievre is apt to bent connected to the enactment astatine this constituent — though a possible Liberal bulk telephone could complicate things.

"I deliberation helium has rock-solid enactment among the enactment membership," Ellerton said successful an interview.

Other Conservatives accidental Poilievre's future is to beryllium determined, fixed the Liberals will unrecorded to spot different time and triumph slipped done his hands.

"This is simply a large nonaccomplishment to a bushed authorities that's been successful powerfulness for 10 years," 1 elder Conservative root who worked for Poilievre in the past told CBC News.

"The feline couldn't bash what needed to beryllium done. He utterly refused to admit that the ballot container question had changed to the bitter end," the root said, referring to the U.S. commercialized war.

Party achieved immoderate success

Still, Poilievre led the enactment to gains successful areas wherever the enactment has struggled successful caller national elections. Notably, the Liberals person pulled successful astir 49 per cent of the ballot counted truthful far, compared to astir 45 per cent for the Conservatives — large improvements for some parties aft the NDP ballot collapsed. 

The Conservatives picked up seats successful Toronto's suburban 905 region, immoderate with unexpectedly ample margins similar successful Vaughan-Woodbridge.

Party sources accidental Poilievre's tough-on-crime connection had a peculiar entreaty successful areas wherever convulsive and spot crime has been a major concern after a post-COVID spike.

Poilievre's effort to tribunal bluish collar workers, peculiarly those in private sector unions, besides paid disconnected with a beardown Conservative showing successful concern areas similar Ontario's Niagara region, and southwestern Ontario locales similar London and Windsor.

The enactment outperformed in immoderate areas of Atlantic Canada, picking up a spot successful Newfoundland and Labrador, and benefited from progressive ballot splits successful B.C.

Poilievre besides held disconnected a meaningful Liberal breakthrough successful municipality Alberta and Saskatchewan, though Carney, the party's archetypal Western person successful a generation, delivered comparatively respectable results successful the portion — peculiarly successful B.C.'s Lower Mainland.

But Poilievre mislaid his ain Ottawa-area spot of Carleton — a shocking effect fixed he's held that riding for much than 20 years done successive governmental waves.

Voters successful the country told CBC News Poilievre's past enactment for the anti-vaccine mandate convoy that overtook Ottawa's downtown during the pandemic and his committedness to chopped the nationalist work wounded his chances successful the riding.