Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre attends a party barbecue in Calgary on July 9, 2022. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has backed Pierre Poilievre to be the next leader of the party.
In a rare public return to party politics, Harper, who did not run in the 2017 and 2020 Conservative leadership races, posted a short video on Twitter on Monday touting his support.
Harper says the contest to lead the party is full of candidates, but one stands out.
The former prime minister says Poilievre served as a strong minister under him when the Conservatives were last in power, before he was defeated by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2015.
“In recent years he has been the most vocal and effective critic in our party of the Trudeau Liberals,” said Harper, who noted Poilievre’s advocacy of economic issues such as inflation and debt.
“He’s proposing answers rooted in solid conservative ideas, but adapted to today’s realities.”
Harper’s endorsement comes with less than two months left in the race, and as party members are in the process of filling out their mail-in ballots.
The race to lead Harper’s old party has been characterized as a battle for its very soul and has at times included some personal attacks between candidates.
Poilievre has been criticized by former Quebec president Jean Charest, who is also a candidate in the leadership race, and others for having ideas and a tone that would make it impossible for the Conservatives to win the next general election after three straight losses .
Harper, in his support video, said otherwise.
The former prime minister says Poilievre not only has the strongest support within the party caucus of any candidate in the race, but is popular with existing members and is bringing in new ones.
“This is how we’re going to win the next federal election,” Harper said.
“In my opinion, Pierre has argued, by far, the strongest that he is the person to do it.”
Charest issued a statement after Harper’s video, calling his support for Poilievre a “personal choice.”
“Conservatives only win when we are united. Stephen Harper succeeded in uniting the Conservative Party of Canada. As the leader of the PCC, I pledge to do the same,” Charest said.
“This race is about the future, right now, we have a choice: lose more seats or build on our momentum across Canada to win a majority government.”
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