Photo: AFP / Artur Widak
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost his own seat in Canada's election, official results showed Tuesday, despite his party making gains in parts of the country.
It was a stunning upset for the 45-year-old Poilievre, who was first elected to represent a mostly rural district of the capital Ottawa in 2004.
Late Monday, he conceded the election to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals but indicated he would stay on as opposition leader.
To remain in that post, Poilievre could stand in a by-election to regain his seat in Parliament.
"We are cognisant of the fact that we didn't quite get over the finish line yet," Poilievre told a crowd of supporters late Monday.
"We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work. And that's why we have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time the Canadians decide the future for the country."
Mark Carney. Photo: AFP / Andrej Ivanov
Liberal Bruce Fanjoy, once considered a long shot, flipped Poilievre's Carleton district. Preliminary Elections Canada results showed Fanjoy received 42,374 votes, or 3793 more than Poilievre.
Fanjoy told public broadcaster CBC on Tuesday he campaigned against Poilievre to offer "a positive alternative" to the Tories.
"I think that it was very important that we don't import divisive, American-style politics to Canada," he said.
A seasoned right-wing politician with a pugnacious style and a flare for slogans, Poilievre had dreamed of leading Canada since his youth.
At age 25 he became the youngest member of Parliament in Canadian history, and almost two decades later in September 2022 was chosen to lead the Conservatives.
The party had a 20-point lead over the Liberals at the end of 2024, but that collapsed after Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister, and US President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Canada's economy and sovereignty.
"It feels like karmatic retribution a little bit," Ottawa resident Heather Bradley, 31, said of Poilievre losing his seat.
- AFP
