Arnold endorses Poilievre for Conservative leader

Apr 10, 2022 | 3:30 PM Liam Verster

Pierre Poilievre has received some local support in his bid for leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Following his speech at the Schubert Centre in Vernon Saturday evening, Mel Arnold, the Member of Parliament for North Okanagan-Shuswap, issued a verbal endorsement for Poilievre.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Arnold said he had originally planned to wait until all candidates had entered the leadership race before making an official endorsement.

“I believe most [of the candidates have been declared] now, any that are significant challengers I believe, but it’s very clear tonight. Everything that I’ve seen from Pierre, not just tonight, but over the last six plus years that I’ve served with Pierre as a Member of Parliament. He’s a leader, he wants to unite Canadians, he wants to have Canadians with their freedom back again, and see Canada prosper and grow,” said Arnold.

He added that though he couldn’t provide an exact figure, he did think Poilievre had the most endorsements so far.

“That just shows the support that [Poilievre] will have within caucus, which is a huge piece of building an entire team behind you,” said Arnold.

“When you have this type of momentum building that Pierre has built in his rallies over the past couple of weeks, you can see that the has ignited a spark in people that we haven’t seen in a long time, and it’s exciting to be part of that energy that’s been building to elect Pierre as the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and then as the next Prime Minister of Canada.”

Arnold repeated the talking points Poilievre touched on during his speech including housing affordability and energy independence, saying these policies would benefit all Canadians.

Arnold added that the campaign is ongoing and more policies and plans will be rolled out during Poilievre’s bid for the leadership.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Poilievre said he was very grateful to receive the endorsement from Arnold.

“I think it’s a major victory. Mel Arnold is respected all over British Columbia. He’s a champion of working class people, he’s a hard working representative, and it demonstrates the enormous support I have across the region,” said Poilievre.

“I have Tracy Gray [MP for Kelowna Lake-Country] and Dan Albas [MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola] also supporting me in the Kelowna area. So there’s no doubt that the MPs that represent the region are solidly behind my campaign for Prime Minister.”

The leadership vote will go on September 10, 2022.