Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre found his key back to the House in his home province on Aug. 18, winning the byelection in Battle River–Crowfoot, Alta.

Preliminary results from Elections Canada on Aug. 19 show that Poilievre won with a comfortable 80.4 per cent of the vote. Coming in second was Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley with 9.9 per cent, followed by Liberal candidate Darcy Spady with 4.3 per cent, and the NDP’s Katherine Swampy with 2.1 per cent. Rounding out the top seven were the United Party of Canada’s Grant Abraham, People’s Party candidate Jonathan Bridges, and the Greens’ Ashley MacDonald.

It was a crowded ballot featuring 213 names thanks to the latest efforts by the Longest Ballot Committee, which has been targeting various ridings across the country as a protest of the first-past-the-post voting system. In response, Elections Canada introduced an adapted ballot “on which electors write the name of the candidate they are voting for,” according to their website.

On Aug. 19, Elections Canada reported a preliminary figure that 58.82 per cent of registered voters had cast a ballot, with some 14,452 having voted in the advance polls. 

Born and raised in Calgary, Poilievre has lived in Ottawa since 2000. His candidacy in the rural Alberta riding was criticized, with Independent candidate Sarah Spanier accusing the Conservative leader of using the riding of Battle River–Crowfoot as “a political pawn.”

The seed for this byelection was planted on April 28 when Poilievre lost his long-held riding of Carleton, Ont., in the federal election. Three-term Tory MP Damien Kurek stepped down on June 17 from his Battle River-Crowfoot seat—considered one of the safest Tory ridings in the country—so Poilievre could have a shot at returning to the House. Kurek had won on April 28 with 82.8 per cent of the vote.

In a post-victory social media post, the party leader’s wife Anaida Poilievre said the ups and downs of politics are worth it.

“People do it because they believe in something. It is built by people with strong conviction and fire in their belly,” she wrote, also highlighting that it has an “ugly side.”

“Friendships come and go as if dictated by the polls. Just like the weather, people come and go.”

Ex-MP Rayes unpacks Quebec’s Aug. 11 byelection

Speaking of byelections, former Conservative-turned-Independent MP Alain Rayes wrote about the provincial contest that happened around his old riding of Richmond-Arthabaska, Que., on Aug. 11, which saw the Parti Québécois triumph over the leader of the Quebec Conservative party who was looking for a breakthrough seat.

Rayes called the result a warning to all parties: “Respect the intelligence of voters, speak to them truthfully, propose pragmatic solutions, avoid demagogy and useless attacks, and they will mobilize,” he wrote in a French-language piece titled “A clear message for the political class” in La Presse on Aug. 13.

Rayes, who did not reoffer in the April federal election, said he’s impressed by the voter turnout—nearly 60 per cent—given it was a mere provincial byelection in the depth of summer.

“That’s rare in the modern era. And believe me, that figure speaks to citizens’ interest and engagement,” he said.

PQ MLA-elect Alex Boissonneault received more than 46 per cent of the vote in a riding that had been a Coalition Avenir Québec stronghold since 2012. It was most recently held by now-MP Éric Lefebvre who left the CAQ caucus in 2024 to run as the Conservative candidate in the April 28 federal vote (his departure from the National Assembly triggered this byelection).

“As the former mayor of Victoriaville and ex-federal MP for a part of this riding, I know how important local connections matter here,” Rayes said, noting Boissonneault’s backing by former péquiste MLA and cabinet minister Jacques Baril resonated with voters. “A shocking contrast to the support [Quebec Conservative Leader] Éric Duhaime received …. from former Montreal mayor and ex-federal MP Denis Coderre,” he wrote.

Rayes noted the vote was an unofficial referendum on Duhaime, who’d “put everything on the table … but voters decided: Not this time! This complicates his path to 2026,” alluding to Quebec’s general election next year.

In other poor performances, Rayes touched on that of the Quebec Liberal Party, now helmed by erstwhile federal minister Pablo Rodriguez. Its candidate, Chantal Marchand, placed third with a mere nine per cent of the vote: “There’s a lot of work to do,” said Rayes.

The former MP said the other factor in the PQ’s success is the governing CAQ’s current unpopularity. “The stronghold has become a ruined field,” wrote Rayes of the provincial riding where CAQ candidate Keven Brasseur placed fourth. With CAQ Premier François Legault having already announced plans for a fall cabinet shuffle and the National Assembly’s return to work on Sept. 16, “the next few weeks will be crucial for the Legault government,” wrote Rayes.

Three diplomatic appointments

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced new Canadian heads of mission to Singapore, Fiji, and São Paulo, Brazil, on Aug. 14.

Paul Thoppil has been appointed as high commissioner to Singapore replacing Jean-Dominique Ieraci who, as previously reported in Heard on the Hill, is Canada’s new ambassador to Peru. Thoppil had much private and public sector experience before he joined the foreign service in 2004. He spent five years from 2014 to 2019 at the department then-known as Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada as senior assistant deputy minister and chief financial officer before returning to Global Affairs Canada as assistant deputy minister of the Asia-Pacific Branch. Thoppil’s prior postings include Japan from 2009 to 2014, and “in 2023, he became Canada’s first-ever Indo-Pacific trade representative, based in Jakarta. He will continue serving in this position on a concurrent basis,” reads his biographical note.

Most recently at headquarters as director of the Brazil, Southern Cone, and Venezuela Division, Jennifer Lalonde will become high commissioner to Fiji replacing Keith Smith. Lalonde’s overseas experiences include as the international assistance counsellor and head of co-operation in Sri Lanka from 2013 to 2016, and the political consul in Shanghai from 2020 to 2023.

And speaking of Fiji, Canada’s former envoy to the Pacific Island nation, Joanne Lemay, will succeed Caroline Charette as consul general in São Paulo, Brazil. Lemay has been with the foreign service since 1997. Her postings include as ambassador to Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova (based in Bucharest), and as high commissioner in New Zealand, with accreditation to Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu. “During her tenure, she became the first high commissioner for Canada in both the Cook Islands and Niue,” reads her official biography. Lemay’s latest role in Ottawa was as director general of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Planning, Policy and Operations Bureau.

Minister Dabrusin to speak in Halifax on Friday

Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin will be in Halifax on on Aug. 22 for a fireside chat hosted by that city’s Chamber of Commerce. Titled “A Climate Competitive Canada,” the first-time cabinet minister from Ontario will discuss how Canada can adapt and mitigate climate change.

“The minister’s visit will shine a spotlight on the momentum building right here in our province—from cutting-edge renewable energy projects to innovative research and green business practices,” reads the promo on the chamber’s website. The event will take place at The Prince George Hotel, 1725 Market St., Halifax.

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times