It’s time to give Pierre Poilievre his due. Despite some pundits — including, yes, yours truly — suggesting the rural Alberta riding he chose to run in posed some risks, the Conservative Party of Canada leader managed to defeat an independent with no political track record, a handful of disorganized Alberta separatists, and a record number of long ballot nuisance candidates. Even more impressively, after a summer of campaigning in the region, he almost matched the vote share that CPC MP Damien Kurek received in April’s federal election. Bravo, sir.

Now, of course, the real work begins. In January, Poilievre will have to convince his own party’s membership that he deserves a second chance after squandering a double-digit lead in his first federal election leading the Conservatives. And one

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