All eyes are on Pierre Poilievre as conservatives prepare for leadership race

OTTAWA – Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen has sidelined some key allies of former leader Erin O’Toole on Friday as the party began reforming its short- and long-term future.

Bergen replaced four O’Toole supporters in what is known as the leadership team – MPs tasked with the day-to-day operations of Parliament – and also issued a statement in which he sought to moderate the party’s position on the ongoing protests against COVID-19 vaccination mandates that have paralyzed downtown Ottawa for days.

Sources said the Star Bergen was getting pressure from all sides to back the party’s support of the protesters’ call for the termination of vaccination mandates.

Tensions in Ottawa were high with the prospect of another massive weekend rally and among Tories there is also growing concern that identifying too closely with the protesters could do long-term political damage at a time when the party needs to start rebuilding.

With this process furiously underway, conservative informants on Friday were full of speculation about whether Ottawa MP Pierre Poilievre would run for party leadership.

The pugilistic financial critic estimated a run in the last leadership race, only to bend by the eleventh hour. Since then, his star has only risen. Poilievre is in demand as a fundraiser and speaker on the Conservative circle, and while he may mock Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s selfies, he can barely move through a crowd without being asked to take it himself.

O’Toole’s decision to briefly remove Poilievre from the financial portfolio was one of the grievances cited by Conservative MPs when they voted to remove O’Toole by a 73-45 vote.

In the waning hours of his leadership, O’Toole’s allies also called on Poilievre’s name and the fact that he might not decide to run as a reason to continue to support O’Toole.

On Friday, conservatives described him as a “juggernaut” – a force that crushes everything in its path – amid questions about what his entry could mean for the party’s looming leadership race.

The party has twice debated how to hold a leadership competition since Stephen Harper stepped down after losing the 2015 election.

In 2017, claimants were given months to file an entry fee of $ 100,000 and gather the support of 300 party members in 30 constituencies across the country. The relatively low standard was later cited as the reason why there were as many as 14 people in the race.

When one of those who stood out was the TV personality and well-known businessman Kevin O’Leary – who had never before played an active role in federal politics – there was a lot of hand-wringing about an “outsider” “moving into the big blue tent. O’Leary finally bowed when it became clear that his lack of ability to speak French would be more of an obstacle than he realized.

When it came time to draw the rules for the next competition, the organizers decided to increase the advance – the entry fee was set at $ 300,000, 3,000 signatures were needed and candidates only had a matter of weeks to to get it all together.

Partly perhaps because the COVID-19 pandemic hit just months after the race was called, only four people eventually cleared the bar: newcomer MP Derek Sloan, political newcomer Leslyn Lewis, O’Toole and former Progressive Conservative party leader Peter MacKay .

Nearly 18 months later, MacKay still did not finish paying the bills he received in that competition; On Thursday, he held a fundraiser with businessman Conrad Black and Danielle Smith, the former leader of Alberta’s populist Wildrose party.

That guilt sparked speculation that MacKay might stay out of the next race, though a few blue hearts got in the way when the Toronto Sun published a column Friday asking for a strong Conservative party.

Given Poilievre’s fundraising power and wide network of support, he would have no trouble qualifying for the race, insiders say.

But the choice for the organizing committee this time is how wide he wants the field to be – and that field can also be shaped by what Poilievre decides to do, say many conservatives.

“Do people stay out because he is in? That’s the question, ”one longtime party organizer told the Star.

The party on Friday announced the first organizational steps for the race – a committee that will name the actual committee charged with drafting the rules.

When it comes to when the votes will be cast, many people insist on a speedy approach, and consider September as the right time to have a new leader in place.

As an MP, the date may matter less to Poilievre than to others considering the post. Even if he lost, he still has his seat.

A similar calculation exists for fellow MP Leslyn Lewis, who entered as a total newcomer to the 2020 leadership competition but ended up in a strong third place thanks to rock-solid support under the party’s social-conservative wing. She is generally expected to run again.

Anyone coming in from the private sector can also go back to their old job.

Names in the mix include Mark Mulroney, former Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest, and Quebec business magnate Vincenzo Guzzo.

Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, a former MP and former leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives, is already making calls to test the waters. He’s up for re-election this fall, so he’ll have to evaluate the risks of seeking federal leadership – and what happens if he does not win.

Brown’s name began to emerge as a potential successor even before O’Toole got the boot, when he decided to fight Quebec’s Bill 21, which bans people in positions of public authority from wearing religious symbols at work. wear.

The law received renewed attention late last year after a teacher in Quebec wearing a hijab was removed from the classroom.

O’Toole’s stance on the bill was too soft for some in his caucus, and some were willing to enforce the issue internally before he was fired.

Many have told the Star they expect it to be on the table in the next leadership race.

“This is something we as conservatives should have been fundamentally against at the beginning,” said Kyle Seeback (Dufferin-Caledon).

“It is discriminatory. It tramples on religious freedom. And all we are asking is that our party take the position that we would intervene as it has gone to the Supreme Court. I do not think this is a radical view. I think this is the right position. ”