OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has lost his seat in Parliament, complicating earlier plans he announced to stay on as party leader.

Elections Canada reported the Liberals’ Bruce Fanjoy captured Poilievre’s Ottawa-area riding by about 3,800 votes.

Without a seat in Parliament, Poilievre will not be able to return to the House of Commons when it resumes. That makes things more awkward for the Conservative leader, who must now find a way to regain a seat, while also soothing party concerns about its loss.

Poilievre spent election night on Monday trailing Fanjoy, a businessman who officially became the Liberal candidate in June 2024.

The Conservative leader has held the riding of Carleton, which has underwent several boundary changes, since he was first elected to Parliament, back in 2004.

He had won the riding seven-straight times, almost losing only once, when former prime minister Justin Trudeau rose to power in 2015.

This election, the Liberals took special interest in the riding, with Fanjoy having spent the past two years knocking on doors and seeing hundreds of Liberals raise their hand to volunteer to try and to defeat Poilievre.

The large rural riding boasted the highest turnout of any riding for advanced polls, according to Elections Canada. With two polls still remaining on Tuesday morning, the riding boasted nearly 80 per cent turnout.

It is also home to many federal public servants, whom Fanjoy made direct appeals to, arguing that Poilievre intended to make cuts.

Fanjoy also campaigned on drawing parallels between Poilievre’s political style and that of U.S. President Donald Trump, a connection that dogged Poilievre throughout the campaign, which he ultimately lost.

Fanjoy had hoped to target more moderate Conservatives, turned off by Poilievre’s right-wing populism.

Speaking to party faithful shortly before 1 a.m. ET, Poilievre said in his concession speech that Conservatives had to “learn the lessons” of their election loss, but that the party had reason to celebrate, having grown its seat count by more than 20.

It also made breakthroughs in regions like the Greater Toronto Area, which the party had struggled to do for the past three elections.

“Now I know that some of you might be disappointed that change did not get over the finish line tonight,” Poilievre said in his speech early Tuesday.

“Change takes time.”

While Poilievre’s predecessors failed to convince the party’s caucus and supporters they deserved another shot after their election losses, Poilievre remains immensely popular among Conservatives and delivered more seats for the party, growing its support to historic heights. His campaign rallies drew in thousands and Conservative campaigns were abuzz about the support they were seeing on the ground.

Ultimately, it failed to be enough.

In the final week of the campaign, Liberals expressed optimism at their chances of defeating Poilievre in his own seat.

One source, speaking on the condition of background, pointed to internal projections which they said suggested the Liberals were gaining ground on Poilievre, who finished the five-week campaign by making a pit stop in his own riding on the final day of the race.

The Conservative campaign dismissed reports that Poilievre could be in trouble.

The Liberals ultimately felt turnout was going to be the biggest factor.

One complicating factor that slowed Elections Canada’s counting in Carleton was that 91 people were on the ballot, a majority of whom as Independents, who were participating in a protest meant to raise awareness about electoral reform.

More to come …

National Post

staylor@postmedia.com

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