Reaction to Poilievre’s Alberta byelection victory
Posted August 19, 2025 7:08 pm.
The Conservative Party leader is headed back to Ottawa, this time as an Alberta Member of Parliament.
Pierre Poilievre celebrated victory Monday night in the Battle River-Crowfoot byelection – grabbing about 80 per cent of the votes.
“I am grateful that I will have the chance to be their humble servant, to fight every day and in every way for the people in this region who feed, power and protect all of Canada,” said Poilievre.
Poilievre was criticized by some for parachuting into rural Alberta, despite living in Ottawa for the past 20 years.
A Marijuana Party candidate voted — not for himself — but for runner-up Bonnie Critchley because she’s local.
“She is Battle River-Crowfoot. She’s not some parachute pp, she’s from this area. She knows how to ride a horse,” said Kenneth Kirk, Marijuana Party candidate.
Others, though, understood why their Conservative MP — Damien Kurek — stepped aside for Poilievre.
“It was surprising. We love Damien and what he stood for. So we’re hoping that Pierre will do the same for us here,” said Jason MacKenzie, a Camrose resident.
The Prime Minister and Alberta’s Premier both congratulated Poilievre on Tuesday. A former premier did the same while taking a shot at Alberta separatists, one of whom managed just 700 votes.
Jason Kenney wrote on social media — this by-election result once again unmasks the Alberta separatist “movement” as a completely empty shell.
“This is a clear message that the effort and noise around a referendum on secession is a pointless distraction.”
But one strategist disagrees.
“I think anytime you use the word separatism in a country that’s complicated like ours, you have to say why do people feel that way, why is the pain coming out, why are people saying that they think there might be a better offer than what they currently have in Canada?” asked Chad Rogers, with Crestview Strategy.
The next test for Poilievre — a leadership review in Calgary in January. A mere formality, says one conservative supporter and strategist.
“This is due process, it’s expected, it’s not coming out, as we’ve seen with other leaders, by caucus revolt. You see caucus very united behind Pierre, lots of them in the room last night to help with get-out-the-vote and campaign throughout the last couple of weeks here,” said Erika Barootes, Conservative supporter and co-host of the Discourse podcast.
Parliament is set to resume on September 15, that is when Poilievre and Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet in the House of Commons for the first time.
