Conservative Party | Uncertain future after the election of the new leader

(Ottawa) During the last Conservative debate, the three candidates present all stressed the importance of unity within the party.

Will the party remain united after a race that has revealed deep divisions within it? And while we try to find an answer to this question, many are preparing for a victory for Pierre Poilievre.

But winning a leadership contest and leading a party are not the same thing.

“Someone has to start thinking about the day after the election,” says Garry Keller, the former chief of staff of Rona Ambrose, who took over as interim leader of the Canadian Conservative Party after the 2015 election defeat.

Pierre Poilievre, counts on solid support within the current group of Conservative MPs. No less than 62 of the 118 caucus members support Stephen Harper’s former minister.

The MP for Carleton says his message emphasizing “freedom” is unifying for the Conservatives.

For Keller, that doesn’t mean caucus members can say whatever they want on social media. “People are going to lose their illusions about it,” he says.

Throughout the campaign, Mr. Poilievre and his supporters have been accused of undermining party unity by making fierce personal attacks on their opponents, namely former Quebec premier Jean Charest.

Recently, MPs from the Poilievre camp and another candidate for the leadership of the party, Scott Aitchison, questioned Mr. Charest’s intentions in the event of a defeat.

“It’s sad to see the loyalty of Jean Charest, a patriot and a champion of Canadian unity, being called into question by conservatives who stir up divisions,” said Michelle Coates Mather, a spokesperson for the organization. by Mr. Charest. What is their ultimate goal? Lose the next election by alienating the Conservatives who support Mr. Charest? This seems to me a poor strategy for a party that wants to expand its electoral base in order to win. »

The question of the future of the Conservative Party in the event of Mr. Poilievre’s victory is highly topical in Quebec. The favorite of the race obtained the support of only one of the ten Conservative deputies: Pierre Paul-Hus.

MP Alain Rayes, one of Mr. Charest’s main organizers, expressed his confidence in a victory for the former prime minister. According to him, the party does not need to embark on “a policy focused on division and caricature, inspired by what is happening in our southern neighbors and Trump-style politics”.

“I am convinced that you [les membres du Parti conservateur] go make the right choice,” he wrote in an open letter.

According to the Center Ice Conservatices group, if the party wants to expand its base, it will have to abandon the radical fringes and focus its attention on the issues that most concern the population as a whole.

Its director Michael Stuart says that Jean Charest and Pierre Poilievre have ideas that interest centrists. Even their supporters want both to deal more with everyday issues like economic growth and jobs.

And how will Mr. Poilievre deal with the social right, he who has bet heavily on opponents of the measures put in place to fight the pandemic?

Even if he promised that his government would not introduce a bill restricting access to abortion, he could be called to order by some of his allies.

Jack Fonseca, from a group of anti-abortionists, said many of the new members Poilievre recruited into the movement against public health measures often shared the values ​​of social conservatives.

“They are for freedom, for the family, and yes, for life and faith,” he says.

Mr. Fonseca hopes that Mr. Poilievre will steer his campaign commitments in that direction. He also wants to see Leslyn Lewis, a social conservative who participates in the leadership race, join his circle of close advisers.

“He will be forced to face this reality. He will have to make commitments to the social conservatives who form his base. »