Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Ellis Ross said history will not repeat itself as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s leadership comes under question Jan. 30.
Poilievre is set to travel to Calgary for his first leadership review since losing an election in which his party held a 27-point lead and since losing his long-held seat in the riding of Carleton, Ont.
Poilievre is the fourth leader of the Conservative Party since its establishment in 2003. The party won the first election after it was formed, with Stephen Harper becoming prime minister.
Harper held the position for nine years before losing the 2015 election to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. Following the loss, Harper stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party and resigned his seat months later.
After Harper’s departure, Andrew Scheer was elected leader. Scheer served as leader beginning in 2017 and remained in the role through the 2019 election, which he also lost to Trudeau. Scheer resigned as leader following that loss.
After Scheer, Erin O’Toole was elected the party’s third leader. He served for two years before losing the 2021 election to Trudeau. O’Toole was removed as leader after a failed leadership review.
Given the history of Conservative leaders resigning or being removed following an election loss, many Canadians believe Poilievre could face the same fate.
Despite that history, Ross said he believes Poilievre will remain leader, citing what he described as the largest vote count for a Conservative leader in recent years.
“I have 100 per cent faith in Pierre. I think a lot of people seem to forget that he actually raised the vote count for Conservatives. He is one of the most popular Conservative leaders in recent memory. So I don’t think the leadership review’s going to have any type of impact,” Ross said.
Ross added that the Liberals won the 2025 election by running on Conservative ideology.
“Our policy is still the basic common sense strategy that you saw before. You got to remember a lot of those ideas that the Liberal government put in were actually Conservative ideas. Whether we’re talking about housing or axing the tax. So Carney was good at taking the Conservative mandate and getting elected.”
