"Conservative delegates' resounding show of support for Pierre Poilievre's leadership in Calgary is more interesting than a more tentative vote would have been. The way people talk about Poilievre in Ottawa and Toronto, including a lot of long-time Conservatives, suggests they think he's trying to be like Prime Minister Mark Carney, and he's bad at it. The weekend's events in Calgary suggest Poilievre's trying to be different from Carney, and that the party thinks he's good at it."
"The party just had an effective, relatively painless chance to force Poilievre out-and rejected it resoundingly. The Conservative Party of Canada is now, in effect, all in on Pierre Poilievre. Nor do I expect a big pivot in his style or issue set now that he's past the review."
Conservative delegates delivered a resounding show of support for Pierre Poilievre's leadership at the Calgary review. Many in Ottawa and Toronto perceived Poilievre as attempting to emulate Prime Minister Mark Carney, but Calgary indicated he is positioning himself as different and that the party approves. The party rejected a painless chance to remove him and is now effectively all in on Poilievre. A leadership collapse remains possible through defections or a caucus revolt but is unlikely. No major pivot in style or issues is expected after the review. Poilievre's strategy centers on retaining conservative 2025 voters and persuading recent Liberal voters by exposing potential disappointment with Carney. His forty-nine-minute economic speech was pitched at street level and emphasized taxes, affordability and Liberal criticism.
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