Conservatives, Poilievre seek to carry convention momentum back into Parliament

OTTAWA — Political analysts say the federal Conservatives and leader Pierre Poilievre have momentum coming off a unifying convention in Calgary but the party still has a hill to climb in Parliament to one-up Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals.

The Conservatives wrapped up their three-day national convention yesterday that saw Poilievre easily passed his mandatory leadership review by earning 87 per cent support from delegates.

Pollster Nik Nanos says Poilievre’s result was “quite striking” and should put an end to talk that the Conservative leader doesn’t have a firm grasp of the party after a pair of MPs crossed the floor to the Liberals late last year.

The Conservatives trailed the Liberals by four points in Nanos polling from the week before the convention but the firm also finds Carney now leads Poilievre by 28 points as Canadians’ preferred prime minister.