Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre voted The Canadian Press' "Newsmaker of the Year 2003"

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been chosen as The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year for 2023.Just over one-quarter of the editors who took part in the annual survey picked Poilievre, the sharp-tongued politician who has been leading the Conservative party since his whopping first-ballot victory last year.

The Opposition leader has since been helping his party to rise in the polls with a laser like focus on the housing shortage and cost-of-living crisis felt by Canadians.

He has revived the debate over the federal carbon price with a relentless "axe the tax" campaign, claiming victory after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a pause on the carbon levy for home heating oil amid lagging support for the Liberals in Atlantic Canada.

After nearly two decades in Parliament, Poilievre has also been trying to show a softer image, including by ditching his glasses and trading his suits for T-shirts as part of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign also featuring his wife, Anaida Poilievre. NDP Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who made history as the first provincial premier in Canada to be from a First Nation, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both tied for second place.