One is forced to conclude that Pierre Poilievre, following the leadership review in which he garnered an 87 per cent favorability rating from delegates, can now do whatever he wants in leading the Conservatives through the next election on his way to becoming Canada’s next Prime Minister.
Perhaps this might be the case for the western delegates who dominated attendance figures at the convention, but for delegates from Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes at least, he’s going to have to come up with better policy ideas and ways of selling them to voters than he did during the April 2025 campaign.
During his acceptance speech, these same western-based delegates cheered in absolute rapture as Mr. Poilievre listed the promises that would form the foundation of Conservative policy in the next federal election: cut the waste contained in the Liberal’s budget, decrease the deficit, strengthen efforts to reduce crime (to include making it legally possible for Canadians “to take whatever action necessary” to protect their homes from would-be intruders), reduce the number of immigrants that Canada would accept in any given year, increase defence spending and protect the rights of gun owners.
What is most interesting about this resuscitation of Poilievre’s political life span is that it appears that our still respected media outlets appear to have decided that the only thing “newsworthy” coming from the convention floor is that Poilievre’s vote count grossly exceeded the general public’s expectations as to that result; everyone, that is, except perhaps Toronto Star Columnist and CBC panelist Althia Raj.
Never being one to worry about public jaws collectively dropping in stunned disbelief as to her observations, Ms. Raj’s inquiries found considerable concern as to the result of the vote, even within the Alberta delegation. Noting that the convention was conveniently held in Calgary, one member even suggested that the very location showed considerable weakness in the Party’s leadership, as “To narrowly constrain it (the convention’s locale to a place where it was less expensive to attend than it would be for someone living further to the east) to a very small subset of individuals” does not allow for a reflection of the mood of the entire nation, and particularly if the Conservatives hope to eventually govern Canada.
Eastern delegates were even less amused, and Ms. Raj found more than one individual all too willing to have their concerns noted. One Ontario delegate maintained that “I haven’t seen any growth or development over the past 10 months into a prime minister in waiting or a government in waiting”, while a Quebec representative went even further, emphasizing that Poilievre’s address to the convention was “completely the same thing. It’s the same speech … It’s exactly the same words … I feel like I’m not represented, I’m not heard.”
The Conservatives had other worries, of course; with rumors floating around the convention floor that current Liberal PM and former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney was considering calling a snap election. Should such an announcement be forthcoming (highly unlikely, especially given that the NDP have yet to name a party leader to replace Jagmeet Singh) and Poilievre’s final approval rating had been considerably lower, the most likely outcome of such an event would be to produce a majority Liberal voice in Parliament. In effect, then, while the begging and pleading of party insiders for delegates to get behind a “calmer” and “changed” Poilievre, what he ended up delivering in his convention speech is what Conservatives for the past twenty years have been failing to do: promote policies that reflect the mood of party members across the nation, not just the west – which is what we ended up seeing coming out of the Calgary gathering.
The eastern delegates certainly have a point. Current pressing issues were never addressed in Calgary, particularly those being exacerbated by President Trump, such as him constantly threatening our sovereignty, slapping random tariffs on not only Canadian manufactured goods (e.g.: the automobile sector), but on any nation daring to question his point of view on world affairs or the new role the United States believes it “must” play in assuring American interests are supported without question within the American continents.
What is equally disturbing, however, is that Poilievre is STILL failing to offer a plan to address the issues he outlined at convention even as he promises to support the Prime Minister in his goal to strengthen Canada’s economic ties while dramatically reducing its reliance upon the United States as our principal export market.
To be fair, Poilievre is showing a willingness to work with the PM and provincial or territorial premiers; as for the Conservative Party’s Governing Council, a different face is being shown that is just another thorn in eastern delegates’ sides. As “The Breach” recently pointed out, the Council, which is responsible for overseeing the party’s internal affairs, candidate selection and election readiness, is overly populated with present or former industrial lobbyists (including oil, gas, mining companies, Big Tech, telecommunications, pharmaceutical corporations, as well as the financial sector). In the Party’s last convention (Quebec, 2023) a resolution that would have barred lobbyists from serving on the Council was brought to the floor. It didn’t pass, and this year it seems that this Council’s motto will be “Business as Usual”.
Equally disturbing, “The Breach” also noted that four of the newest members of the Council are strong “pro-life” supporters. For women’s rights groups, this factor is definitely casting a pallor over concerns as to the possibility of the Party may in the very near future revoke its position that the management of a woman’s health is the exclusive domain of the woman and her doctor, while at the same time drawing fears that such representation representing an extreme religious position is just Conservatives drawing up a Canadian rendition of Project 25, the American playbook that drives the Trump agenda in the U.S.
As for how the Conservatives may eventually draw up the terms that will define how they work with the Liberals in dealing with Trump, that bridge has yet to be crossed by Poilievre. His relationship with Alberta premier Danielle Smith might look to be on good footing, but there’s been no statement as yet coming from Smith that were Poilievre to become our next PM, her government would abandon its confrontational position as to the “need” of a northern pipeline over the Rockies to Kitimat, or that she’d stop bending over backwards in provoking her “Take Back Alberta” extremists to vote for Alberta’s separation from Canada, or possibly even become Trump’s dream of conjuring up a “51st state”.
It’s also hard to determine as to whether or not Poilievre is calling the shots as to what side of the “Canada v United States of America” the Conservatives are really on, or whether Poilievre can even control the natural “exuberance” of his MP’s in wanting to be a part of that decision. Bowmanville – Oshawa MP Jamil Jivani, for instance, decided last week to fly to Washington to meet with his good friend Vice President J.D. Vance, allegedly to “help Prime Minister Mark Carney negotiate a trade deal with the U.S.” – a response that was immediately ridiculed in Parliament, even by Conservatives.
As to the policies that potentially fracture the voice of Conservatives having a unifying effect upon its membership, too many of them are still dangerously close to the “Blame the Liberals” mentality of the last election, be they fiscally or policy driven, especially with respect to how Canada should be conducting its “war” with Donald Trump, or even the Party’s attitude and favoritism with gun owners. These, however, are topics to be considered in next week’s column.
