Pierre Poilievre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Riding | Nepean—Carleton |
|---|---|
| Political party: | Conservative |
| First elected: | 2004 election |
| Profession(s): | Businessman, communication consultant, policy analyst |
Pierre Poilievre, MP (born June 3, 1979 in Calgary, Alberta) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Canadian House of Commons, having been re-elected for the riding of Nepean—Carleton in the federal election of 2006. Poilievre is a member of the Conservative Party, and is currently Canada's youngest Member of Parliament.
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[edit] Background
Poilievre studied International Relations at the University of Calgary, and was a participant in campus debating forums while attending university. Due to ambiguity in the language used within official biographies, questions have been raised as to whether or not Poilievre actually graduated.
Before entering politics, Poilievre was a co-owner and operator of 3D Contact Inc., a polling and consulting firm (the other partner being Calgary lawyer Jonathan Denis). He has also worked for Magna International, focussing on communications, and has done public relations work in Toronto. Prior to his election, Poilievre did policy work for Canadian Alliance MPs Stockwell Day and Jason Kenney, and worked as a full-time assistant to Day.
In 1999, Poilievre contributed an essay on public policy to the book At Stake, a collection of essays from Magna International's As Prime Minister Awards Program.
[edit] Political Career
Poilievre won the Conservative Nepean—Carleton nomination in 2004, at the age of 25, after provincial MPP John Baird decided not to run. In a closely watched race, Poilievre defeated Liberal cabinet minister David Pratt by almost 4000 votes, or about 5.5% of the total. The Liberals were reduced to a minority government in the election.
Poilievre was voted the hardest-working constituency MP in the 2005 Hill Times Annual Political Survey. He was voted the hardest-working MP in the 2006 Hill Times Annual Political Survey.
On January 23, 2006, Poilievre was re-elected with 55% of the vote, beating his Liberal challenger by over 19,000 votes. The Conservatives formed a minority government at the national level.
On February 07, 2006, Poilievre was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Hon. John Baird, the President of the Treasury Board.
In the summer of 2006, Poilievre campaigned along with Treasury Board President John Baird for a measure that would reduce the Ottawa-area Queensway-Carleton Hospital's rent payments. According to the new measure, the hospital would pay only $1 per year, reduced from $25,000. [1] Critics have argued that the intent of Baird and Poilievre was to give preferential treatment to a hospital in their community.
[edit] Unparliamentary Behaviour
In May 2006, Poilievre's interest in the British rock sensation Coldplay caused him some unwanted attention when Liberal MP, Marcel Proulx accused him of accepting a concert ticket to see the band perform in Ottawa. It was later confirmed that while Poilievre was a guest in the venue's VIP box, he did pay for his own ticket along with other entertainment expenses including transportation and refreshments—spending over $350 during the evening.[2]
Poilievre was caught on tape using foul language directed at colleagues in a committee meeting,[3] and making unparliamentary arm gestures and was accused of mocking the Speaker of the House of Commons [4] [5] in June 2006. Poilievre later apologized for making gestures within the Commons;[6] no apology has been made for unparliamentary language within Committee.
Also in June, 2006, Poilievre's behaviour within the Legislative Committee on Bill C-2 was sharply criticized by opposition members as "insulting" following exchanges between himself and a witness giving testimony—a point of concern that was recognized and cautioned by the Committee chair.[7]
Editorials in the Ottawa Citizen have presented similarly critical commentary on Poilievre's behaviour. On June 14, 2006, the terms “crass exhibitionism”, “vulgarity on the airwaves”, “spectacle of law-makers behaving like frat-boys” and “undisciplined stupidity” were used to describe Poilievre's behaviour. On June 16, 2006, one commentator wrote that "he is eroding public respect for Parliament."[8]
General Election (January 23, 2006)
Nepean--Carleton (Ontario)| Candidate | Party | Number of Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lori Gadzala | Green Party of Canada | 3,976 | 5.5 |
| Michael Gaffney | Liberal Party of Canada | 20,111 | 28.0 |
| Laurel Gibbons | New Democratic Party | 8,274 | 11.5 |
| Pierre Poilievre | Conservative Party of Canada | 39,512 | 55.0 |
General Election (June 28, 2004)
Nepean--Carleton (Ontario)| Candidate | Party | Number of Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Brown | New Democratic Party | 6,072 | 9.1 |
| Pierre Poilievre | Conservative Party of Canada | 30,420 | 45.7 |
| Brad Powers | Marijuana Party | 561 | 0.8 |
| David Pratt | Liberal Party of Canada | 26,684 | 40.1 |
| Chris Walker | Green Party of Canada | 2,886 | 4.3 |
[edit] References
- ^ CBC Ottawa. "Queensway hospital gets break on rent", CBC, July 31, 2006.
- ^ According to 192.197.82.155 (whois: Canadian House of Commons PARL-C1)
- ^ Political Notebook, June 9, 2006.
- ^ CTV. "Harper urged to apologize for MPs' rude gestures", CTV, June 14, 2006.
- ^ Political Notebook, June 14, 2006.
- ^ Hansard June 14, 2006.
- ^ Hansard, Legislative Committee on Bill C-2, June 5, 2006 (time: 1745 ff.).
- ^ "No respect." The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, ON: Jun 16, 2006. pg. A.16
| Preceded by: David Pratt, Liberal |
Members of Parliament from Nepean—Carleton | Succeeded by: (incumbent) |
