COVID-19 pandemic shaping the race for the next Conservative leader
Global News
The Conservative leadership race is happening during what appears to be the end of Canadians living under government-imposed pandemic rules.
The last time federal Conservatives were picking a leader, their race was transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than two years later, they are at it again. But this time, the race is happening during what appears to be the end of Canadians living under government-imposed pandemic rules.
The events of the past 25 months, from when the health crisis first landed until now, are shaping the contest for who will lead the Conservative party after Sept. 10.
“The whole concept of talking about freedom is definitely a direct result of the pandemic,” said Chris Chapin, a managing principal at the Upstream Strategy Group, who worked on past leadership campaigns for Ontario Progressive Conservative candidates.
Longtime party MP Pierre Poilievre is running a campaign vowing to make Canada the “freest nation on earth.” Opposing mask and vaccine mandates has been a large part of his message, which he has delivered to crowds that have at times swelled into the thousands.
Last week, he took his stump speech to a largely unmasked crowd of more than 250 people who packed into a hotel conference room in western Quebec, where a mask mandate was still in effect.
Chapin said Poilievre has clearly tapped into the angst people have felt living in the pandemic, including those in big rigs who rolled into Ottawa over the winter and refused to budge from downtown streets for weeks, demanding all COVID-19 rules end.
Leslyn Lewis, the third-place finisher in the 2020 race, has also been campaigning against mandates.
A camp and sacred fire were erected on the city-owned land on Dec. 26 after contractors began cutting trees in the forest three days earlier.
Net-neutrality rules require internet service providers to treat data and users equally rather than restricting access, slowing speeds or blocking content for certain users.
Health officials have said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.
As 2025 arrives, experts break down the trending diets, highlighting the science-backed winners, the cautious choices to consider and the fads that might not live up to the hype.
"I think it's fair to say from a scientific perspective, if they have the same hardwiring, they're going to have the same emotions (as humans)."
The new report recommends health care providers should encourage alcohol screening and treatment referrals as needed, and efforts to increase general awareness should be expanded.
J35 made international headlines in 2018 when she carried the young whale’s carcass with her for more than two weeks and 1,500 kilometres.
The new Know Alcohol calculator was developed by researchers at UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and calculates personalized health risks from drinking.
A single organization called Éco Entreprises Québec is to now manage recycling across the province on behalf of companies that produce packaging and paper.
The teen became the first critically ill pediatric patient with avian influenza in North America and information was published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A sea otter has been seen clambering onto a surfboard and following surfers off Vancouver Island, prompting reminders from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to avoid close interactions with the mammals.