Canada MPs defeat Pierre Poilievre-backed anti-vaccine mandate bill

MPs overwhelmingly voted to kill a bill Wednesday pushed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre that would have banned Ottawa from again imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates on federal workers and the travelling public.

By a vote of 114-205, MPs agreed to drop the private member's bill, C-278, that Poilievre first introduced last year when he was running for the party's leadership.

The bill was subsequently picked up by Conservative MP Dean Allison, a noted anti-mandate critic who, like his leader, supported the trucker convoy that loudly opposed the government's approach to COVID-19.

Its failure to pass was not unexpected.