Pierre Poilievre becomes first MP to bid for Conservative Party leadership

Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievrehas announced he will officially seek the leadership of the federal Conservative Party.

Poilievremade the announcement in a video he shared via Twitter on Saturday evening that also takesaim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"Trudeau thinks he's your boss. He's got it backwards. You are the boss. That's why I'm running for prime minister,"he said in the video.

Poilievre, 42, becomes the firstcandidate seekingto replace Erin O'Toole, who was voted out as leader earlier this week.

Born in Calgary,Poilievre has been MP for the Ottawa riding of Carleton since 2004, and held a number of cabinet positions under thenPrime Minister Stephen Harper.

In his video, Poilievrecriticizes the government's spending, saying "they're spending more than any time since World War II, so they control more of what you earn and you control less."

Poilievre, who has served as the party's finance critic, has frequentlycriticized the Liberals for policies he says have fuelled inflation, whichreached a 30-year high in December.

Poilievre also makes a tacit reference to the ongoing protests over vaccine mandates and other public health measures that started in Ottawa last week, but havesince spread to other cities, including Toronto andQuebec City.

"The Trudeau government has attacked small businesses, truckers and other hard-working Canadians," Poilievresays in the video.

The protests originally started as a movement against the mandate for cross-border commercial drivers to be vaccinated, but has since grown into a wider protest against public health measures.

Poilievre is one of a number of Conservative politicians who havegreeted the protesters in Ottawa in person, an issue that seems to have the party divided.

Already garnering endorsements

Poilievre gained a number of endorsements minutes after announcing his candidacy on Saturday.

In reply to his tweet, former cabinet minister John Baird got behind his onetime caucus colleague, writing that Poilievre "has the brains and the backbone and will make a great PrimeMinister. I am beyond thrilled to endorse him!"

A number of MPs have also started to endorse Poilievre, includingOntario's Melissa Lantsman, who was elected in the fall.

"No question Pierre is the answer to a strong & united Conservative Party," Lantsman said in a tweet.

Alberta MP John Barlow was also quick to backPoilievre.

"He understands the issues facing western Canadians," Barlow said in a video posted on Twitter.

Here's a list of MPswho have so far endorsedPoilievre:

• Dan Albas.
• Michael Barrett.
• John Barlow.
• James Bezan.
• Michael Cooper.
• Todd Doherty.
• Marilyn Gladu.
• Michael Kram.
• Melissa Lantsman.
• Philip Lawrence.
• Jamie Schmale.
• Jake Stewart.
• Corey Tochor.
• Ryan Williams.
• Bob Zimmer.

Alain Rayes steps down as deputy party leader

A Quebec Conservative has quit his post as the party's deputy leader because he says he wants to play a role in shaping who will next lead the party.

"My dearest wish is that theConservative Party of Canada appoint (sic) a leader who represents the progressive values, centre-right economic (sic)and that he is able to unite all of our members around a common objective: replace the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau,"Alain Rayes saidin a statement.

He says he plans to support a candidate, though doesn't mention any by name.

But by wanting to get involved in the leadership race, Rayes says he has no other choice but to step down from his positions, which included being the party's Quebec lieutenant.

The race to replace Erin O'Toole as leader, after caucus members dumped him this week, began in earnest on Saturday when Poilievre announced his intention to run.

The shakeup with Rayes led interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen to appoint Quebec MP Luc Berthold as deputy leader and Quebec lieutenant. In a statement Sunday, Bergen called Berthold a well-respected member of caucus and said his experience will be an asset for the Conservatives.

Bergen also thanked Rayes for his work and said she looked forward to continuing to work with him in the House of Commons to hold the Liberal government to account.