Charest’s Bid To Be Leader, Puts Poilievre’s Coronation On Hold?

In 1993, Charest was a heartbeat away from running the country and became one of five elected officials to serve as Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and later went on to serve as the 29th Premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Charest signals hope for a party that has failed in the last three elections to unseat the Trudeau administration. His personality is a 180 from Scheer, O’Toole and certainly Poilievre, who’s an acquired taste.

Charest is known as a bridge-builder that believes in a more inclusive Canada and is loved by Quebecers, but most importantly, he can win in Quebec if he leads the party into the next federal election. These are the intangibles needed of the next party leader, and in our opinion, Charest is the only one in the race right now that has them.

On Thursday, Charest will officially announce his bid to be the leader of the Conservatives and outline his vision for the party. The leadership election will take place on September 10, 2022, which means Canadians will have to endure months and months and months of campaign rhetoric for all candidates. The Carleton Member of Parliament wanted a short leadership race, but the Conservative party denied the request.

Charest knows to become the Prime Minister of Canada, he first must become the leader of the Conservative Party. This is important as Poilievre is openly campaigning to be Prime Minister before securing the leadership.