Pierre Poilievre

Pierre Marcel Poilievre PC MP (born June 3, 1979) is a Canadian politician who served as Minister for Democratic Reform from 2013 to 2015 and Minister of Employment and Social Development in 2015.[1] He is currently a member of Parliament (MP), representing the suburban Ottawa riding of Carleton and has served as the Opposition critic for finance and for the National Capital Commission since 2017.

The Honourable Pierre Poilievre PC MP
Poilievre in 2014
Shadow Minister for Finance
Incumbent
Assumed office August 30, 2017
Leader	Andrew Scheer Erin O'Toole
Shadowing	Bill Morneau Chrystia Freeland
Preceded by	Gérard Deltell
Minister of Employment and Social Development
In office February 9, 2015 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Jason Kenney
Succeeded by	Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of State for Democratic Reform
In office July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Tim Uppal
Succeeded by	Maryam Monsef
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Carleton Nepean—Carleton (2004–2015)
Incumbent
Assumed office June 28, 2004
Preceded by	David Pratt
Personal details
Born	June 3, 1979 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Anaida Poilievre
Residence	Nepean, Ottawa, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Website	www.pierremp.ca

A member of the Conservative Party, Poilievre was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 in the riding of Nepean—Carleton, winning re-election three times. In 2015, Poilievre ran in the re-established riding of Carleton and was re-elected in the same riding in 2019.

Background

Poilievre was adopted at birth by schoolteachers of Franco-Albertan heritage.[2] His birth mother was the daughter of Irish immigrants.[3] He studied international relations at the University of Calgary,[4] following a period of study in commerce at the same institution. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Calgary.[5][6]

Poilievre has done policy work for Canadian Alliance MPs Stockwell Day and Jason Kenney, and prior to running for office himself; worked as a full-time assistant to Day. He also worked for Magna International, focusing on communications, and has done public relations work.

In 1999, writing as Pierre Marcel Poilievre, he contributed an essay, "Building Canada Through Freedom" to the book @Stake—"As Prime Minister, I Would...", a collection of essays from Magna International's "As Prime Minister" awards program. In his essay he argued, among other things, for a two-term limit for all members of Parliament. He did not win the competition and is now in his sixth term as an MP. At the time, he was editorially described as being in the second year of a commerce program at the University of Calgary. His self-description was as "a political junkie with a passion for public debating and a special interest in international relations".[7]

Politics

38th–40th Parliaments

In 2004, Poilievre stood as Conservative candidate in the riding of Nepean—Carleton. He defeated Liberal Cabinet minister David Pratt by 3,736 votes. In 2006, Poilievre was re-elected with 55% of the vote, beating Liberal candidate Michael Gaffney by 19,401 votes. He has been re-elected in 2008 and 2011 with similar majorities. He was appointed as parliamentary secretary to various ministers including the president of the Treasury Board and the prime minister.

Federal Accountability Act

As parliamentary secretary to the Treasury Board president, Poilievre took credit for redrafting Canada's whistleblower protection laws.[8] and worked with Treasury Board President John Baird to pass the Federal Accountability Act through the House of Commons. The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act was enacted to provide a process for public sector employees when disclosing abuses and wrongdoings within the federal government and protection of these employees from reprisals. The Federal Accountability Act received Royal Assent on December 12, 2006.[9]

Children's Fitness Tax Credit

Poilievre proposed a sports tax credit to then Opposition leader Stephen Harper. The sports tax credit became a central plank in the Conservative Party's 2006 election platform.[10] The tax credit came into effect January 1, 2007. The tax credit allowed parents to claim $500 per year for dependent children under the age of 16. Parents that have children with disabilities are eligible for the tax credit until their child reaches the age of 18. This credit has since been eliminated.[11]

Queensway Carleton Hospital

In the summer of 2006, Poilievre and John Baird, the Treasury Board president, helped secure a $1 per year rent for the Queensway Carleton Hospital from the National Capital Commission. Before the brokered agreement, the QCH was paying the NCC $23,000 per year in rent. The lease of the hospital was to expire in 2013,[12] and the rent was set to increase substantially.[13]

Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge

Poilievre advocated for the construction of the Strandherd-Armstrong bridge which spans the Rideau river.[14] The eight-lane bridge links Riverside South with Barrhaven.[15] Poilievre secured one-third of the project's funding and acquired the neighbouring airport land needed to complete the Limebank Road expansion, tapping into funds already committed by former MP David Pratt for transportation projects in this riding.[16]

Construction began on July 27, 2010. The event was locally publicized, with politicians of all levels and parties involved attending the ground breaking.[17]

The bridge was originally scheduled to be completed in 2012,[18] but in 2012 the original contractor, ConCreate USL, went into receivership.[19] The bridge opened in July 2014.

Charitable work

As a member of Parliament, Poilievre has been involved with a variety of charities. For his 30th birthday, Poilievre co-hosted an event with Ottawa Police Chief Vernon White to help raise funds for Harvest House Ministries and Project S.T.E.P.[20] Both charities do work within the greater Ottawa community to treat substance abuse and prevent addiction. In 2005, Poilievre helped raise $40,000 to help rebuild the Manotick legion after it was destroyed by fire in June of that year.[21]

Residential schools compensation

On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper released a public apology on behalf of the Canadian government for the residential schools, and provided $4 billion worth of funding for residential school survivors. Earlier that day, Poilievre made remarks to CFRA News Talk Radio regarding the compensation and the residential school survivors, for which he would later apologize.[22] Poilievre stated that he didn't think Canada was "getting value for all this money", instead "we need to engender the values of hard work and independence and self-reliance."[23] Poilievre apologized in Parliament the next day, saying, "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer a full apology to aboriginal people, to the House and to all Canadians. Yesterday, on a day when the House and all Canadians were celebrating a new beginning, I made remarks that were hurtful and wrong. I accept responsibility for them, and I apologize."[24]

Religious persecution

On February 13, 2009, Poilievre stood in the House of Commons to make a statement concerning incidents of alleged anti-Semitism at York University. Poilievre stated his belief that Canadians must address anti-Semitism on college and university campuses.

"Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government condemns the latest anti-Semitic outburst at York University. This week, chants of 'Zionism is racism' were heard, and one person was called a 'dirty Jew'.

Sadly, incidents like these have become far too prevalent on college and university campuses across Canada. I am reminded of the violent left-wing mob that shouted anti-Semitic curses at a former Israeli prime minister and prevented him from speaking at Concordia University in 2002.

I fear there is a rise among the extreme left of a new anti-Semitism. We see it in the instances that I mentioned. It lies below the surface of the public discourse waiting, waiting for us to let our guard down, waiting for the outrage to subside, waiting for the right time to flourish. We must confront it, fight it, and defeat it."[25]

Poilievre was sent by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Geneva, Switzerland in April 2009 to attend the Conference Against Racism, Discrimination, and Persecution. This conference was held at the same time as the Durban Review Conference, which had been criticized by the prime minister as full of "anti-Semitic rhetoric". During the same trip, Poilievre traveled to Poland to participate in the International March of the Living Mission, a tour of Nazi concentration camps to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.[26]

Carbon tax

Poilievre is opposed to a national carbon tax. In May 2009 Poilievre was accused of having insensitively used the term "tar baby" in the House of Commons in reference to a policy of carbon taxation from which Poilievre suggested that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff would try to distance himself.[27] Poilievre repeated the term later in the same question period.[27] A number of opposition MPs demanded Poilievre make amends for the use of the term.[28] Poilievre argued that he did not know that the term had racist undertones and was using the term in the sense of its common definition as a sticky and hard to handle issue.[27] Over the previous years, the term itself had been used by a number of prominent Canadian public figures to indicate a sticky situation.[28]

41st Parliament

Following the 2011 election, Poilievre was appointed parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport, infrastructure and communities and for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.[29]

On July 15, 2013, the prime minister appointed Pierre Poilievre to Cabinet as minister of state for democratic reform following a Cabinet shuffle.[1][29]

On February 9, 2015, Poilievre was appointed minister of employment and social development, replacing Jason Kenney.[30][29]

National sovereignty

Poilievre criticized the Public Service Alliance of Canada when it was revealed that the regional sectors of that union endorsed the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in the 2012 Quebec provincial election. Poilievre remarked,

“I accept the results of the election,” said Poilievre. “But I can’t accept a union representing public servants working for the government of Canada which forcefully takes money out of the pockets of Canada’s public servants to support parties that want to break up the country. How can it be in the interests of public servants to support the breakup of Canada?”[31]

Poilievre has also supported Conservative MP Russ Hiebert's private members bill C-377, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (labour organizations). The legislation advocates for an increased schedule and scope of disclosure for every Canadian labour union.

Fair Elections Act

Poilievre introduced Bill C-23, known as the Fair Elections Act, into the House of Commons on February 4, 2014.[32] The bill expanded the types of ID which were accepted in order to vote, and eliminated the vouching system, whereby a voter can vote without an ID and have an acquaintance 'vouch' for them. The bill was opposed by former-chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley,[33] former-auditor general Sheila Fraser,[34] and dozens of Canadian[35] and international[36] political experts — Poilievre stepped up his attacks on Marc Mayrand, the chief electoral officer of Elections Canada at the time, by accusing him of wanting "more power, a bigger budget and less accountability."[37] In the same appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Poilievre went on to accuse Mayrand of "fighting to retain this power, making some incredible claims and inventing some novel legal principles to do it." The bill was passed and has received royal assent.

2014 Ottawa shootings

On October 22, 2014, Poilievre was present at Parliament Hill during the attack on the House of Commons by a terrorist. He, along with the prime minister and many other MPs, barricaded themselves in the Conservative caucus meeting room. He was one of a number of MPs who broke down flag poles and fashioned them into spears to ward off the assailant should he force his way inside. Later, when he and fellow Conservative ministers and MPs met at the Lester B. Pearson Building, Poilievre brought along his spear as a memento.[38]

Canada Elections Act violation

In July 2015, while acting in his capacity as a Cabinet minister, Poilievre announced an expansion of a child care benefit program. During the announcement, he wore a Conservative Party of Canada shirt, stated that the payments were from "our Conservative government," and claimed that "if the Liberals and NDP were to take office they would take the benefits away and raise taxes."[39] Later in 2017, the elections commissioner determined that the occasion was akin to a Conservative party campaign event, rather than a Government of Canada announcement.[40] As the government spent approximately $4,800 related to the event, it was essentially "a de facto non-monetary contribution" to the Conservative party.[39]

The commissioner ruled that this was a campaign finance violation, as Poilievre had "knowingly circumvent[ed] the prohibition on contributions to a registered party by ineligible contributors." Poilievre was ordered to post a link to the ruling on his social media.[41]

42nd Parliament

Poilievre was re-elected in the newly re-drawn riding of Carleton in 2015, although his margin ahead of the Liberal candidate was closer than in previous elections, at less than 2000 votes. He was the only Conservative MP elected in the Ottawa area.

In early 2016, Colin Jayantha Perera, a constituent of Poilievre's who had end-stage kidney failure, had arranged for his nephew, a matching donor, to visit Canada from Sri Lanka to donate him a kidney.[42][43] However, the visitor visa of Perera's nephew was denied.[42] Perera then approached Poilievre, who then asked the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, John McCallum, for a rarely-granted minister's permit to let the nephew visit for the operation, which was granted.[43]

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer named Poilievre the party's finance critic as part of its shadow cabinet.[44]

43rd Parliament

Poilievre was again re-elected in 2019, with a similar percentage of the vote to his 2015 victory.

After Scheer's resignation as party leader, Poilievre was initially considered to be one of the front runners to win the subsequent leadership election, although he eventually chose not to run.[45] He retained his post as the party's finance critic in new leader Erin O'Toole's shadow cabinet.[46]

Personal life

In January 2018, Poilievre married Anaida Galindo, a Senate aide, in a ceremony in Portugal.[47] On October 17, 2018 the couple welcomed their first child Valentina Alejandra Poilievre Galindo.[48] The couple live in the Ottawa suburb of Greely, Ontario.[49]

Electoral history

2019 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Pierre Poilievre	32,147	46.35	-0.51
	Liberal	Chris Rodgers	26,518	38.23	-5.51
	New Democratic	Kevin Hua	6,479	9.34	+3.21
	Green	Gordon Kubanek	3,423	4.94	+1.68
	People's	Alain Musende	792	1.14	+1.14
Total valid votes/Expense limit			69,359	100.0
Total rejected ballots			408	0.60	+0.27
Turnout			67,767	77.18	-3.77
Eligible voters			87,807
	Conservative hold		Swing		+2.50
Source: Elections Canada[50][51]

2015 Canadian federal election: Carleton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Pierre Poilievre	27,762	46.86	-14.81	–
	Liberal	Chris Rodgers	25,913	43.74	+22.88	–
	New Democratic	KC Larocque	3,632	6.13	-7.22	–
	Green	Deborah Coyne	1,932	3.25	-0.86	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			59,239	100.0		$204,911.88
Total rejected ballots			196	–	–
Turnout			59,435	81.0%	–
Eligible voters			73,418
	Conservative hold		Swing		-18.7%
Source(s) Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Carleton, 30 September 2015 Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

2011 Canadian federal election: Nepean–Carleton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pierre Poilievre	43,428	54.42
	Liberal	Ryan Keon	20,146	25.25
	New Democratic	Ric Dagenais	12,955	16.24
	Green	Jean-Luc Cooke	3,266	4.09
Total valid votes			79,795
Turnout			–	%

2008 Canadian federal election: Nepean–Carleton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pierre Poilievre	39,921	55.8
	Liberal	Ed Mahfouz	16,743	23.4
	Green	Lori Gadzala	7,880	11.0
	New Democratic	Phil Brown	6,946	9.7
Total valid votes			71,490
Turnout			69.4	%

2006 Canadian federal election: Nepean–Carleton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pierre Poilievre	39,512	55.0
	Liberal	Michael Gaffney	20,111	28.0
	New Democratic	Laurel Gibbons	8,274	11.5
	Green	Lori Gadzala	3,976	5.5
Total valid votes			72,089
Turnout			75.8	%

2004 Canadian federal election: Nepean–Carleton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pierre Poilievre	30,420	45.7
	Liberal	David Pratt	26,684	40.1
	New Democratic	Phil Brown	6,072	9.1
	Green	Chris Walker	2,886	4.3
	Marijuana	Brad Powers	561	0.8
Total valid votes			66,848
Turnout			75.1	%

References

1. "A full list of the new and old faces in Stephen Harper's cabinet". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. October 15, 2013.
2. https://ottawacitizen.com/Minister+Nepean+Carleton/7453041/story.html
3. https://m.facebook.com/PierrePoilievreMP/photos/a.10150817173997379/10154493422377379/?type=3
4. Parliamentary biography of Pierre Poilievre Archived September 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine; www.pm.gc.ca.
5. "bio". Archived from the original on December 25, 2013.
6. "Prime Minister Harper makes changes to federal portfolios".
7. @Stake—"As Prime Minister, I Would...". Magna International Inc., 1999, p. 57.
8. "Tories consider U.S.-style bounty for waste-busting whistleblowers". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007.
9. "Bill C-2".
10. "Stand Up For Canada" (PDF).
11. "Children's Fitness Tax Credit". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
12. Ottawa Citizen (July 29, 2006). "Queensway hospital gets break on rent". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
13. CBC Ottawa (July 31, 2006). "Queensway hospital gets break on rent". CBC. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
14. "Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge – Project Overview".
15. "Canada-Ontario Partnership to Help Build the Strandherd Armstrong Bridge in Nepean Carleton". June 8, 2009.
16. "Poilievre victorious in Nepean-Carleton". Ottawa Citizen. October 15, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
17. "Work begins on long-awaited Strandherd-Armstrong bridge project". Ottawa Citizen. July 27, 2010.
18. "Detailed overview of the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge project". City of Ottawa. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014.
19. "Strandherd-Armstrong bridge work to resume". CBC News. June 6, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
20. "Project S.T.E.P." Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
21. "Manotick Directory: Royal Canadian Legion of Manotick, South Carleton Branch 314". Archived from the original on August 4, 2012.
22. "Conservative MP apologizes for 'hurtful' comments on aboriginal people". CBC.ca. June 12, 2008.
23. CTV.ca News Staff. "Tory MP says sorry to natives for 'hurtful' remarks". CTV.ca. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
24. "Hansard".
25. "Hansard".
26. "PM sends MP Pierre Poilievre to represent Canada at the Conference against Racism, Discrimination and Persecution in Geneva". Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
27. "Tory MP under fire for 'tar baby' comment". CTV News. May 29, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
28. Crawford, A (May 29, 2009). "No apology". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
29. "Roles - Hon. Pierre Poilievre - Current and Past - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
30. "Pierre Poilievre takes charge of one key to Conservative election win".
31. "After PSAC endorsement of PQ, Poilievre to push for right to opt out of union dues". Archived from the original on September 11, 2012.
32. LEGISinfo. "House Government Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to certain Acts". Parliament of Canada. Parliament of Canada. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
33. Raj, Althia (March 25, 2014). "Jean-Pierre Kingsley: Bill C-23, Fair Elections Act, Shouldn't Pass Commons As Is". HuffingtonPost.ca. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
34. Bergeron-Oliver, Annie (April 8, 2014). "Fraser holds her own on Fair Elections Act". iPolitics.ca. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
35. "Don't undermine Elections Canada". NationalPost.com. March 11, 2014. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
36. "We believe that this Act would prove [to] be deeply damaging for electoral integrity within Canada". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. March 19, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
37. "Tory cabinet minister launches astonishing personal attack on elections watchdog Marc Mayrand". NationalPost.com. April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
38. Chase, Steven. "Ottawa attack: MPs fashioned spears while Harper whisked into closet". www.theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
39. Jul 21, Jordan Press Published on; 2017 2:47pm (July 21, 2017). "Elections watchdog says Poilievre's Tory golf shirt at child benefit event broke rules". iPolitics. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
40. "Elections watchdog says Pierre Poilievre's branded shirt at 2015 event broke rules". CTVNews. July 21, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
41. Elections, Commissioner of Canada (May 22, 2020). "Compliance Agreements". www.cef-cce.ca. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
42. Sandor, Alison. "Second chance for Ottawa man with kidney failure". www.cfra.com. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
43. McCooey, Paula. "'I am so proud of Canada': Feds OK visit by kidney donor". www.ottawasun.com. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
44. Poilierve, Pierre (March 27, 2018). "Canadian MPs accepted $620K worth of free travel from third parties, foreign entities in 2017". CBC News. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
45. "Pierre Poilievre says he's not seeking Conservative leadership, cites family reasons". Global News. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
46. "O'Toole names shadow cabinet with Rempel Garner, Poilievre and Stubbs in key pandemic positions". National Post. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
47. Polilievre, Pierre (November 5, 2018). "Pierre Poilievre: From smart aleck to smart fellow". Maclean's. [December 12, 2019 Archived] Check |archive-url= value (help) from the original on December 12, 2019.
48. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/mp-pierre-poilievre-announces-birth-of-baby-girl
49. https://pierremp.ca/about-mp-pierre-poilievre/
50. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
51. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 26, 2019.

External links

• Pierre Poilievre
• Pierre Poilievre – Parliament of Canada biography