Pierre Poilievre attends a Conservative Party barbecue in Calgary, Alta., on July 9. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Stephen Harper’s endorsement of Pierre Poillievre for the leadership of the Conservative Party is a boost for the Ottawa MP that will especially sway party members who have been on the fence about supporting him, the leader of the Conservative Senate says.
“This is by far the biggest and most important endorsement,” Don Plett said in an interview Tuesday.
But he said the situation was complicated. “Conservatives are strong-minded people and if I were someone else’s supporter I don’t think an endorsement like this would affect my first vote.” If I was on the fence, it certainly would have happened.”
The Conservatives are already sending out ballots for the race, which is due to end on Sept. 10, choosing from among five candidates: Ontario MPs Poilievre, Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis, former Quebec premier Jean Charest and Romain Baber, a former member of the Progressive Conservative party Legislature of Ontario.
Mr Plett, who backed Mr Poilievre for the leadership, noted that the leadership campaigns were focused on Conservative members, including tens of thousands of new members who he suspected would have the highest regard for the former prime minister and his management style.
Mr. Harper was the first leader of the current Conservative Party of Canada, formed in 2003 with the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance. He was prime minister from 2006 until Justin Trudeau led the Liberals to victory in 2015. Mr. Harper was the only member of the new party to hold the office of prime minister.
“We are not talking to the general electorate at this point. It is clear that we will do it on September 11th. Right now, [Mr. Poilievre’s] the job is to become a leader and that’s why he’s reaching out to the membership, and I think the membership largely supports Stephen Harper,” Mr. Plett said. “I think he has a good base of support and I think Stephen Harper’s support will definitely give them an extra boost.”
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Mr Poilievre’s campaign said it had signed up about 311,000 members in the leadership race sparked by the party’s ouster of Erin O’Toole as leader earlier this year.
The senator said he supported Mr. Poilievre from the start but remained neutral because of his leadership position until he became irritated by suggestions that the party could not win elections under Mr. Poilievre.
Mr. Harper sat on the sidelines in two leadership contests, watching Andrew Scheer and then Mr. O’Toole get elected.
But that ended Monday night with the posting of a tweet with a short video.
In it, Mr. Harper said the five candidates in the race represented a “strong field” but that Mr. Poilievre, whom he described as a “strong minister” in his government, was the best leadership prospect largely because of his politics , talents as a critic and his popularity among the band and existing and new members.
“I know of course that others, including some of my friends, may disagree with me and I respect their views, but I thought you would like to know what my opinion really is,” Mr Harper said.
In his own tweet, Mr. Poilievre said he was proud to serve in Mr. Harper’s cabinet. “It is an honor to have his support in this leadership race,” he said in a statement.
A spokesman for Ms. Lewis’s campaign declined to comment. Representatives for Mr. Aitchison and Mr. Baber did not respond to requests for comment.
On Monday night, Mr. Charest issued a statement calling Mr. Harper’s endorsement “a personal choice” and adding that he would unite the Conservative Party as Mr. Harper had done.
Former MP John Reynolds endorsed Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown for the leadership and shifted his support to Mr. Charest after Mr. Brown was disqualified.
He said Mr. Harper could see Mr. Poilievre as a loyal ally during his time as prime minister. “I believe he wants the next leader of the party to be one of the people on his side of the agenda when it was all happening and I have no problem with that,” Mr Reynolds said.
Sociologist Nick Nanos said Mr. Harper’s endorsement sets the stage for a political battle between the Liberals and Conservatives in the next federal election.
“Harper’s endorsement is confirmation that Poilievre is the likely leadership winner and successor to Harper,” Mr. Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos Research, said in a statement.
“Harper’s support is a powerful signal within the conservative movement. That same endorsement could very well fire up and mobilize progressives during the next election.”
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