The Americas | Poilievre the pugilist

Canada’s Conservatives pick a brainy brawler as leader

Pierre Poilievre delights the right by deriding wokery and taxes. That may not be enough to win power

Pierre Poilievre, newly-elected leader of Canada's Conservative Party, speaks to the crowd after winning the leadership race during a Conservative Party of Canada leadership event at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Canadas opposition Conservatives elected 43-year-old firebrand Pierre Poilievre as the main rival to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photographer: James Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Canadian politics just got interesting. On September 10th the opposition Conservative Party chose as its leader Pierre Poilievre, a dapper scrapper who promises to transform a staid political debate into a brawl. His party is betting that an unhappy electorate will be in the mood for pugilism when the Liberal government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, next faces an election, probably in 2025. But it is not certain that Mr Poilievre’s combativeness will have broad appeal.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Poilievre the pugilist”

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