Canada: Andrew Scheer, new Conservative leader

Little known to the general public, Andrew Scheer takes over the leadership of the Conservative party after a long campaign of more than a year.

The Canadian Conservative Party, the country's main opposition party, has elected Andrew Scheer as its president on Saturday, May 27 in Toronto. He will face Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the upcoming elections in 2019.

It took 13 ballots to determine the winner. On Saturday, May 27, Canadian Conservative Party militants finally crowned their new leader and successor to Stephen Harper, who left politics in 2015 after Liberal Justin Trudeau took office. Andrew Scheer, 38, is virtually unknown to the public. One of his first tasks will be to gain notoriety and seduce voters before the federal election of 2019, where he will face the very charismatic Justin Trudeau.

Despite his relatively young age, the new leader of the opposition already has a long career behind him. He has been the youngest member of the House of Commons since he was 25 years old in the riding of Regina in the south, between 2011 and 2015. He himself describes himself as a pragmatic politician like His predecessor, Stephen Harper, but "  with a smile  ."

Openly opposed to abortion and gay marriage

Among his first promises, he intends to abolish the carbon tax the Trudeau government intends to impose next year. It also advocates the reduction of state expenditure and the elimination of deficits. Father of five children, Andrew Scheer is openly opposed to abortion and gay marriage. He stated that he did not intend to personally reopen these debates, but that he would not prevent Members from doing so. Among the Liberals and New Democrats, some see in its designation the sign that "  the moral right, social, has just regained control of the party  ".

The urgency of the new leader of the opposition will be to bring unity back to his party: his victory in the snatch has brought to light the divisions that cross him.