dissolution. However, they finished 36 seats behind the Liberals despite winning 34.4 per cent of the popular vote to the Liberals' 33.1 per cent, a margin of just over 240,000 votes. It was the first time since 1979 that a party won the most seats without winning the popular vote It was also the first time since a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since the John A. Macdonald-led Tories in 1867, who had 34.8 per cent. Much of the Conservatives' plurality was built on large margins in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where they won 70 per cent and 65 per cent of the popular vote, respectively. However, they only won five seats in the suburbs of the Greater Toronto Area and were completely shut out in Toronto itself, in part due to the provincial Conservative government of Doug Ford. On December 12, 2019, Scheer announced that he would resign as leader of the Conservatives and Official Opposition, staying on until a new leader could be selected. The same day, the Conservative Party confirmed that it had been paying the difference in the cost of private school tuition for Scheer's children in Saskatchewan and the higher cost of tuition in Ottawa—insisting the tuition matter was not the reason for Scheer's resignation. Post-leadership On September 8, 2020, Scheer was announced as the Opposition Critic for Infrastructure & Communities in his successor Erin O'Toole's shadow cabinet. In that role, he sponsored private member Bill C-269 to amend the Fisheries Act to prohibit the deposit of raw sewage in water frequented by fish. On February 2, 2022, Scheer posed for a picture posted on Saskatoon—Grasswood MP Kevin Waugh's Twitter page along with Waugh, Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Rosemarie Falk, Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan MP Fraser Tolmie, Regina-Lewvan MP Warren Steinley and Sen. Denise Batters standing with the Saskatchewan flag at the Freedom Convoy 2022. The mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, demanded an apology, as he felt the protesters actions are not welcomed and that "MPs and senator in the picture should know better." He has endorsed Pierre Poilievre's campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party in the 2022 Conservative Leadership Election. On September 13, 2022, Poilievre, as leader of the Conservative Party, appointed Scheer to become Opposition House Leader. Political positions Economy Scheer has proposed a tax cut for the lowest income tax bracket. This tax bracket, for