Was Poilievre hit with a curse for Conservatives in Carleton???
It's not the first time a Conservative leader has lost in this riding, so is it cursed?
Did Pierre Poilievre lose because his riding is cursed for Conservatives?
That was the thought that I had on Wednesday while giving a tour of Queen’s Park. Walking past the portrait of George Drew, Ontario’s 14th Premier and the leader of the federal Progressive Conservatives from 1948 until 1956.
George Drew isn’t someone people outside of his family still talk about, but he used to be a big name in Canadian Conservative politics.
He had served as an Alderman and Mayor of Guelph before entering provincial politics in 1938 as leader of the Conservatives. In 1943 he became Premier and kicked off the 42 year dynasty for the Ontario PC Party.
But in 1948, just five years into being Premier of Ontario, Drew decided to run for leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party after losing his seat in the provincial election that his party won.
He easily won the leadership race over some guy named John Diefenbaker but didn’t have a seat federally and so George Boucher, the MP for Carleton resigned and allowed Drew to run in his place. While Drew won election easily in Carleton, he failed to win the overall elections in 1949 and 1953, losing both times to Louis St. Laurent of the Liberal Party.
So, does this show that the riding of Carleton is cursed for the Conservative Party?
You might think so after finding out that Sir Robert Borden also ran as Conservative Party leader in Carleton in 1908 and lost. He formed government in 1911 but only after running in Halifax where he was originally from.
So, that would be three Conservative leaders running in Carleon over three elections and not winning. That might make you believe that everything is cursed for the Conservatives in Carleton, until you learn that Sir John A. Macdonald ran and won this riding in 1882 and formed government.
It seems that Conservative leaders can win and form government while running in Carleton, but not many.
Of the four leaders of the Conservative Party who have run there, only one, Sir John A. Macdonald, was able to win and form government. Will things change for Poilievre as he runs in a different riding?
Perhaps, history would say yes but there are a lot of variables at play and a long time to go before the next election.
No, he was hit with the curse of leftist election cheating, which has become the new normal for leftist parties everywhere since about 2000. Notice how all the 'close ridings' with a win based on 1 vote, all that has disappeared in the last few weeks. Carney was parachuted in, pure & simple. Internationally conservative candidates will either stop running in elections, or do it purely as a personal career move. In Europe they're experimenting with different ways of invalidating elections that go the 'wrong' way. Poilievre was Canada's last best hope. I wonder if he had won the Liberals reject the outcome due to Trumpian or Russian interference. The sad reality is that the PRC has become very active subverting free elections. Guess that's why Carney & Trudeau like its "basic dictatorship" so much.
Really Brian, stupid ass headline, he was hit with a rigged/stolen election.