Canada's Conservatives pick populist in bid to oust Trudeau's Liberals

Leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida Poilievre look on during Canada's Conservative Party leadership election in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Blair Gable

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Conservatives on Saturday picked Pierre Poilievre, a veteran parliamentarian who has promoted bitcoin as way to fight inflation, to spearhead the party's bid to oust the Liberals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Poilievre, 43, won leadership in the first round of a ranked ballot vote in which more than 400,000 members cast votes. Poilievre becomes the sixth Conservatives leader since 2015, a period in which they have lost three elections to Trudeau.