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The Conservative Feud Is Embarrassing. Grow Up

If Pierre Poilievre wants to win power, he needs to stop waging war on his own side

I have friends on every side of the fight now consuming Conservatives on X. As a former strategist for the Conservative Party and an adviser to Stephen Harper when he was prime minister, I have worked alongside some combatants, admired others from a distance, and hold every one of them in genuine regard. This is not a piece about who is right. It is about why that question does not matter and about the one person who must end this.

For those spared the spectacle, a brief summary: at the Calgary Stampede, Pierre Poilievre celebrated Kerry Lynne Findlay’s victory in the British Columbia Conservative leadership race as a win over “Liberal lobbyists from out East.”

The people he described were not Liberals. They were Kory Teneycke, Nick Kouvalis, and Anthony Koch, among the most accomplished Conservative operatives in the country. What followed were days of digital crossfire involving former Poilievre communications directors, columnists, influencers, and operatives, culminating in Brian Lilley asking in print whether the leader is serious about winning and Ben Woodfinden, who gave years to Poilievre’s office, confessing he has never been more depressed about the state of conservative politics in this country.

Everyone involved believes they are right. Some probably are. Here is the thing about being right in politics: it doesn’t matter. Winning elections is the point. Not winning the argument.

Which brings me to the onus. In any organization, responsibility for cohesion rises with rank. A volunteer can hold a grudge. A staffer can nurse a grievance. A columnist can keep score. The leader cannot. The leader of a political party cannot be one........

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