COVID-19 pandemic shaping the race for the next Conservative leader

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.