荔枝视频

The race to meet a deadline is a post-secondary rite of passage, and few are the university students who haven鈥檛 pulled an all-nighter on their way to a degree.

Pierre Poilievre was like the majority, but the all-nighter the U荔枝视频 international relations student endured in 1999 was a little different: His hastily penned essay was for a cash prize, rather than a grade, and it may have set him on a pathway to political success.

鈥淎lthough we Canadians seldom recognize it, the most important guardian of our living standards is freedom,鈥� wrote the 20-year-old Poilievre in a paper entitled, Building Canada Through Freedom.

鈥淕overnment's job is constantly to find ways to remove itself from obstructing such freedoms."

One step closer to the job he imagined

As the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Poilievre, BA'08, is one step closer to testing the theories contained in his 鈥淎s Prime Minister鈥� essay, entered into a national writing contest 23 years ago.

Back then, the paper won the self-described 鈥渟tarving student鈥� a cool $10,000 from contest sponsor Magna For Canada, along with a four-month, $12,000 internship, plus a chance to meet Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

"I just hope that none of my views are offensive to the prime minister because many of them come into conflict with the out-dated system he has run for the past few years. But I guess that's what democracy is all about,鈥� Poilievre told the 荔枝视频 Herald.

The reporter who interviewed him that day, Suzanne Wilton, was impressed by his vision.

鈥淚 remember being struck by how articulate and bright this young man was and thinking, 鈥楬e could actually become prime minister some day,鈥欌�� Wilton recalls.

Professor recalls ambition and respect

The ideas in that 2,500-word paper are still reflected in Poilievre鈥檚 platforms today, and the former federal cabinet minister has been building political ideas since his days at U荔枝视频, and even earlier.

While in high school, the 荔枝视频-born Conservative Party leader took part in Model UN at the 荔枝视频, and then as an U荔枝视频 undergraduate, Poilievre was an outspoken member of the student Conservative Club.

Remembered by U荔枝视频鈥檚 Dr. Rob Huebert, PhD, as a sharp-minded student with plenty of ambition, Poilievre went from university debates to a seat in the House of Commons, after serving short stints in journalism and political campaign management.

Huebert, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, says Poilievre was a passionate but polite participant in his university classes and Model UN, where 鈥渉e showed a clear understanding of the international global arena.

鈥淗e was very respectful of his fellow students, and he spoke well, and was a good debater,鈥� recalls Huebert.

鈥淎s a professor, I was favourably impressed with his overall performance.鈥�

From U荔枝视频 to the House of Commons

At just 25 years old, Poilievre ran under the Conservative Party banner of fellow U荔枝视频 alumnus Stephen Harper, BA'85, MA'91, winning an Ottawa-area riding for the official opposition party.

By 2013, with Harper leading a majority government, Poilievre had been promoted to minister of state for democratic reform, and then in 2015, to minister of employment and social development.

This past Saturday, in a ballot attracting more than 400,000 party votes, the former U荔枝视频 student was named leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, defeating Conservative MPs Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis, former Quebec premier Jean Charest and former Ontario MPP Roman Baber.