Pierre Poilievre is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022. He has been a member of Parliament (MP) since 2004 and currently represents Carleton.Poilievre was born in Calgary, Alberta. He studied at the University of Calgary, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations. He then worked for Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day. Poilievre was first elected to the House of Commons following the 2004 federal election; he at first represented the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean—Carleton and then represented the re-established riding of Carleton. After holding various parliamentary secretary posts from 2006 to 2013 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Poilievre served as Harper's minister for democratic reform from 2013 to 2015 and as his minister of employment and social development in 2015. From 2017 to 2022, Poilievre served as the shadow minister for finance and briefly as the shadow minister for jobs and industry. He ran for leader of the Conservative Party in its 2022 leadership election, winning on the first ballot. Since becoming leader of his party, Poilievre has primarily focused on issues pertaining to the cost of living in Canada, and since mid-2023, the Conservative Party has held a substantial lead in opinion polling for the 2025 federal election.