OTTAWA — Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on Monday night conceded the election to Liberal leader Mark Carney — with a promise that he will still fight for Canadians every day.
"It's with profound gratitude that I stand before you today at the moment of this historic election, because only in Canada could the story that Ana and I bring to the stage be possible,” Poilievre told the crowd of cheering supporters.
Ana Poilievre, the Tory leader's wife, joined him on stage, wearing a stunning purple dress and visibly emotional.
“There is much to celebrate tonight,: we gained well over 20 seats — our best result since 1988. We denied the NDP and Liberals enough seats to form a coalition government," said Poilievre.
“That said, we are cognizant of the fact that we didn't quite get over the finish line. Yet. We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work, and that's why we have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time.”
At the time of publishing, Poilievre was trailing Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy in his Carleton riding. Fanjoy had 50.3% and Poilievre had 46.2%, with 214 out of 266 polls reported.
Poilievre called the minority government secured by Carney’s Liberals “razor thin,” and congratulated the Liberal leader on his victory.
“We'll have plenty of opportunity to debate and disagree, but tonight we come together as Canadians,” said Poilievre.
“We will do our job. Yes, we will do our job to hold the government to account.”
He said his party will “work with the prime minister and all parties with the common goal of defending Canada's interests and getting a new trade deal that puts these tariffs behind us while protecting our sovereignty and the Canadian people.”
Poilievre encouraged his supporters by reminding them that Conservatives “won the
big debates in our time on the carbon tax, on inflation, on housing, on the drug crisis, on crime, and we will continue to put forward the best arguments to improve the lives of our people right across this country.”
“But we will not stop there,” he said.
“Every single day, our Conservative caucus and I will be holding the government to account on behalf of the millions of Canadians who believe in the message of change.”
“Everywhere I went, hard-working people took precious time out of their day to tell me about their struggles, their pain, their fears, but also their hopes and dreams. Welders and waitresses, farmers and factory workers, seniors, small business owners and single mothers, young Canadians and young families pleading for the chance to own a home.”
“All of these stories touched my heart and gave me inspiration to work towards something better. These people continue to need voices, and I will continue to fight for them every day.”
“We will never give up. We will carry those stories with us into Parliament. We will not forget the people for whom we work and for whom we fight every day.”
“Now I know that some of you might be disappointed that change did not get over the finish line tonight … [but what’s important is] we never give up, because our people and our country are worth fighting for.”
