Skippy

The October 1993 federal election shattered the structure of Canadian politics. The Bloc Québécois won fifty-four seats to form the official opposition. The BQ remains a force in Quebec to this day; its presence in the Commons makes it harder for national parties to form majority governments. The Reform Party won fifty-two seats and, via a reverse takeover of the historic Progressive Conservative Party, later became the Conservative Party. Its outlook, however, was still that of Reform. The Progressive Conservatives had governed since 1984, mostly led by Brian Mulroney, but won only two seats. Thereafter the PC Party died, despite episodic attempts at revival.

Pierre Poilievre turned fourteen in June 1993. Already, according to his biographer, Andrew Lawton, Poilievre had not only decided to involve himself in politics but “had chosen to become a Reformer.” Poilievre is now forty-five, which would mean that if Lawton is correct, he has spent thirty-one years so far...