Last week, conservatives from across the country gathered in Ottawa for the annual Canada Strong and Free Network Spring conference. The theme of this year’s conference was “from ideas to action”, focused on not just discussing policies, but real changes and how to implement bold ideas. Listening to speakers from Bari Weiss to Premier Smith, and panels on a wide range of topics including criminal justice reform, housing and labour, and on defense, including on how Canada can be a better ally.

This was the setting for what has now come to be known as “Buttongate”, an attempt by Liberal operatives to plant “Trump-style” buttons around the conference, including with “lock Justin up”, “make Canada great again”, and “a vote for Carney is a vote for Wexit”, to try and paint the attendees, and the conservative movement in general in a bad light.

At first glance, “Buttongate” may seem like an absurd political footnote—a stunt meant to stir up some harmless controversy, and frankly that is the way that Carney and the Liberals have treated it. But beneath the surface, it was anything but innocent.

The act of distributing these misleading buttons to unsuspecting attendees wasn’t just a prank. It was a premeditated campaign of manipulation........

© iPolitics