Pierre Poilievre’s crushing win to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada raises questions about the status and power of the party’s social conservatives.
That well-mobilized part of the party’s base has played an important role in helping previous leaders achieve power, with some calling them “kingmakers.”
In the 2020 leadership contest, former leader Erin O’Toole directly appealed to social conservatives—broadly defined as those whose politics are informed by faith-based values, a belief in family and opposition to abortion—to choose him on the party’s ranked ballot.
Andrew Scheer, who himself holds such views, was propelled to victory in the crowded 2017 race thanks to votes that came his way after other social conservative candidates were knocked out of the running….