The Conservative heartland has a new leader in Pierre Poilievre
CBC
Pierre Poilievre walked onto the stage of Ottawa's Shaw Conference Centre to roaring cheers on Saturday night.
His win marked the end of the Conservative Party of Canada's leadership race and ushered in a new era for supporters across the country.
Nearly 3,500 kilometres west of where Poilievre made his first address as the leader of the official opposition, Albertans were watching as the results came in.
"I don't think it was surprising. If there was any surprise, it was just how incredibly convincing the win was," said Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary.
"There was enthusiasm in terms of the number of votes cast and, from the number of memberships, you can really see that Alberta is the sort of spiritual centre of the Conservative Party right now. It's the heartland."
Across Canada, a majority 417,987 voters gave Poilievre a first-ballot win. He won a total of 330 out of the 338 ridings.
In Alberta — to almost nobody's shock — he garnered support from every corner of the province. His rallies, and the events he attended, drew crowds of conservatives itching for a change in government and in policy.
Between all the events in Calgary — including a Stampede barbecue and a rally at the Spruce Meadows Equi-Plex — more than 6,500 people came out to support the Ottawa-area MP.
At the events, he received praise from supporters for his criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, his views on the cost of housing and inflation, axing the consumer carbon tax and defunding the CBC.
He has also pledged to ban all future vaccine mandates and tied himself closely with the messages held by those who participated in the trucker protests.
Born in Calgary to a 16-year-old single mother, Poilievre was adopted by Francophone school teacher parents and raised in the city, where he found his political affiliations at university.
He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Calgary, and was the president of the campus Conservative club during his time there.
On a hometown trip during his campaign, Poilievre stopped by his old stomping grounds where he met with dozens of students hoping to follow in his footsteps.
"Seeing someone that was in my shoes, someone that walked the same halls as me, and now is on pace — in my opinion — to become prime minister of Canada, it's really inspiring," said Leam Dunn-Opper, the president of the University of Calgary's conservative club.
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