section_path: Early political career (2004–2022)/Opposition MP and shadow minister (2015–2022)/2022 leadership election
section_name: 2022 leadership election
paragraph_text: 2022 leadership election
  
  Poilievre won re-election in Carleton in the 2021 federal election to the 44th Canadian Parliament. After O'Toole was ousted as leader through a leadership review on February 2, 2022, there was speculation of Poilievre entering the leadership election to succeed him. On February 5, 2022, Poilievre implicitly declared his intention to run in the leadership election, stating "I'm running for Prime Minister". Political commentators and journalists described Poilievre as the frontrunner in the leadership race. Poilievre's campaign was described as being centred on freedom and reducing the cost of living. He stated his desire to make Canada the "freest country in the world".
  
  Poilievre had been critical of fellow leadership candidates Jean Charest and Patrick Brown, who were seen to be part of the moderate faction of the Conservative Party; Poilievre accused Charest of being a Liberal and stated that Brown's support for a carbon tax is "disqualifying". From the end of June to early July, Poilievre's campaign aired attack ads on Brown in local Toronto television stations, criticizing his policies as mayor of Brampton. Poilievre's campaign paid the legal fees of a whistleblower who claimed that Brown had broken election laws, leading to Brown's disqualification from the race.
  
  On June 4, Poilievre's campaign announced they sold 311,958 out of the 678,708 total memberships during the leadership race. Poilievre had been endorsed for the leadership by 62 Conservative MPs, more than half of the party's then 119-member caucus in the House of Commons. On July 25, Poilievre received an endorsement from former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. On August 2, Poilievre's campaign announced they fundraised $4,042,717 through 36,804 individual donors in the second quarter of the leadership race; this amount was more than half of the $7,538,549 fundraised by the six candidates combined. On September 10, Poilievre won the leadership on the first ballot, with 68.15% of points and 70.7% of the vote share. It was the first first-ballot victory since the party's 2004 leadership election. Poilievre also won 330 out of 338 electoral districts.
  
  During the 2025 Canadian election campaign, Robert Fife of The Globe and Mail reported that the CSIS believed that agents affiliated with government of India assisted Poilievre's leadership bid in 2022 by fundraising and organizing support for Poilievre. While the agency did not believe it would impact the result of the leadership race, they believe agents did it as part of a campaign to gain support from politicians in all parties and Poilievre's decision not to obtain a security clearance prevented him from being notified of this information. Poilievre responded by defending his decision not to obtain a security clearance.
  
  Poilievre won re-election in Carleton in the 2021 federal election to the 44th Canadian Parliament. After O'Toole was ousted as leader through a leadership review on February 2, 2022, there was speculation of Poilievre entering the leadership election to succeed him. On February 5, 2022, Poilievre implicitly declared his intention to run in the leadership election, stating "I'm running for Prime Minister". Political commentators and journalists described Poilievre as the frontrunner in the leadership race. Poilievre's campaign was described as being centred on freedom and reducing the cost of living. He stated his desire to make Canada the "freest country in the world".
  
  Poilievre had been critical of fellow leadership candidates Jean Charest and Patrick Brown, who were seen to be part of the moderate faction of the Conservative Party; Poilievre accused Charest of being a Liberal and stated that Brown's support for a carbon tax is "disqualifying". From the end of June to early July, Poilievre's campaign aired attack ads on Brown in local Toronto television stations, criticizing his policies as mayor of Brampton. Poilievre's campaign paid the legal fees of a whistleblower who claimed that Brown had broken election laws, leading to Brown's disqualification from the race.
  
  On June 4, Poilievre's campaign announced they sold 311,958 out of the 678,708 total memberships during the leadership race. Poilievre had been endorsed for the leadership by 62 Conservative MPs, more than half of the party's then 119-member caucus in the House of Commons. On July 25, Poilievre received an endorsement from former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. On August 2, Poilievre's campaign announced they fundraised $4,042,717 through 36,804 individual donors in the second quarter of the leadership race; this amount was more than half of the $7,538,549 fundraised by the six candidates combined. On September 10, Poilievre won the leadership on the first ballot, with 68.15% of points and 70.7% of the vote share. It was the first first-ballot victory since the party's 2004 leadership election. Poilievre also won 330 out of 338 electoral districts.
  
  During the 2025 Canadian election campaign, Robert Fife of The Globe and Mail reported that the CSIS believed that agents affiliated with government of India assisted Poilievre's leadership bid in 2022 by fundraising and organizing support for Poilievre. While the agency did not believe it would impact the result of the leadership race, they believe agents did it as part of a campaign to gain support from politicians in all parties and Poilievre's decision not to obtain a security clearance prevented him from being notified of this information. Poilievre responded by defending his decision not to obtain a security clearance.