The federal Conservative Party will finally announce its new leader at an event in Ottawa on Saturday night following a months-long leadership campaign. Many expect a coronation of frontrunner and veteran Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who’s likely to win on the first ballot.

The party sent out 678,000 ballots to Conservatives across the country. Poilievre sold nearly 312,000 memberships. He also received an endorsement from former Conservative MP Stephen Harper.

He’s running against fellow MPs Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison, as well as ex-Quebec premier Jean Charest and Roman Baber, a former Ontario MPP who was booted from Premier Doug Ford’s caucus for opposing lockdowns.

The party announced Friday it’s going ahead with the planned leadership event but will include a revised program reflecting Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.

In a statement, Ian Brodie, chair of the party’s leadership election organizing committee, said the results will be unveiled at Ottawa’s Shaw Centre after 6 p.m. ET. 

Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole will deliver a greeting at the event, but he won’t be on the stage. Instead, he’ll issue his greetings by video due to a “prior commitment,” CTV reports. 

For those needing a refresher, O’Toole was booted by his own party earlier this year after failing to form government in the 2021 general election. O’Toole ran for the leadership on a “true blue” platform, but then confused the base by announcing he’d introduce a carbon tax — the first time the Tories embraced the Liberal policy. 

But Poilievre has more Twitter followers than former Conservative leaders Andrew Scheer and O’Toole combined, indicating his popularity with voters on social media. It also reveals he might finally be a Conservative leader who can form government.  

All major networks will carry live coverage of the leadership results. 

But for those looking to escape the gross anti-conservative bias in mainstream media coverage, True North is also hosting a live show to cover and discuss the event. 

You can tune into True North’s coverage at 5 p.m ET.