What Is the Reform Act, and How Will It Impact Poilievre?
In addition to selecting an interim Opposition leader in the House on May 6 while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre remains without a seat in the House of Commons, Tory MPs also voted
to invoke the federal Reform Act, which allows for a secret-ballot vote to review party leadership at any time.
While many Conservative MPs have expressed their support for Poilievre, the legislation could haunt him as he gets ready for the next federal election.
Previous Usage
The
At the outset of each session of Parliament, the MPs in each party vote on which provisions they want to apply to their caucus. If they vote in favour, the provisions apply until Parliament is dissolved.
In 2021, the Conservative Party used the act to expel MP Derek Sloan
The leadership removal provisions of the act have only been used once before, when it set in motion a leadership review of O'Toole and led to his
The Conservatives had been defeated in the
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The Conservative Party had also been split over COVID-19 vaccines, as a number of MPs and senators had not received the vaccine and eventually discussed creating a 'civil liberties caucus' to speak up for Canadians facing job loss and restricted movement over their vaccination status. O'Toole, who was fully vaccinated, had not required his MPs to be vaccinated and
suggested rapid testing should be offered as an alternative to vaccination.
Conservative
While O'Toole ejected Batters from the national caucus in
November 2021
, it was not enough to quell a leadership vote. She
The Liberal Party voted not to adopt the Reform Act at the outset of Parliament in 2021, meaning they could not vote to eject Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader when the party was down in the polls in 2023 and 2024.
The NDP and Bloc Québécois also voted not to adopt the Reform Act at the beginning of the parliamentary session in 2021.
Poilievre's Leadership
Similar to O'Toole, Poilievre has said he intends to
The Conservatives fared better in the 2025 election than they did four years earlier, winning an extra 25 seats and their largest share of the popular vote
since 1988.
Yet the Liberals won 170 seats, just three short of a majority, and in an upset
, Poilievre lost re-election in his Ottawa riding of Carleton, which he had held for over two decades. Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy received 50.8 percent of the vote in the riding, while Poilievre received 45.8 percent.
Alberta Conservative MP
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will ultimately determine when any byelections are held, has pledged not to hold up the process for political gain. 'I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible,' Carney said during a May 2 press conference. 'No games, nothing.'
Poilievre's future as leader of the party is also helped by the fact that for a year and a half, the party was well ahead of the Liberal Party in the polls. It was the resignation of Trudeau, his replacement by Mark Carney, and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats to Canada's sovereignty that tipped the scales in the Liberals' favour.
Until Poilievre returns to Parliament as Conservative leader, the role of the Opposition leader in the House is being held by MP
Many Conservative MPs
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