Peter MacKay, a former minister in the Conservative cabinet, does not blame Pierre Poilievre for the party’s defeat in the federal election last week, but he does believe that members of his team should step down and that the party itself needs to be “fine-tuned.” MacKay, who served multiple roles under former prime minister Stephen Harper and ran for the party leadership in 2020, losing to Erin O’Toole, says “difficult” and sometimes “painful” conversations will be had on what went wrong for the Conservatives.
Although MacKay asserts that there are tensions within the party and with some provinces, he does not believe that was the reason for a fourth Liberal mandate. In an interview that aired on Sunday on The West Block, he stated to Mercedes Stephenson, “I don’t think it’s indicative of a party in crisis — it’s indicative of a party that’s in need of some fine-tuning, perhaps some policy and communications adjustments.” The outcomes speak for themselves in large part: more seats, more votes cast, and I believe policies that were very appealing to millions of Canadians. With over eight million votes cast, the Conservatives increased their vote share to 41.3 percent and flipped several ridings to form the largest Official Opposition in Canadian history with 144 seats projected. Despite all that, the Liberals still managed to win a stronger minority government — 168 seats compared to the 160 seats won in the 2021 election, and 157 in 2019 — as well as the popular vote for the first time since 2015, when they won a majority with 184 seats.Poilievre himself lost the Ottawa-area riding he held for 20 years, and will now have to run in a future byelection in Alberta to get back into Parliament and serve again as the Leader of the Opposition, which under procedural rules is tied to the caucus, not his role as Conservative Party leader.“ According to House of Commons rules, a person must have a seat in the House of Commons in order to be the Leader of the Opposition. The results were a blow to the party, which had been leading the Liberals by double digits in polls just a few months prior. MacKay said that opportunity was not “squandered,” but rather “watered down as a result of things that went beyond the control of the party and the leader.” Other Conservatives, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, have criticized the manner in which Poilievre and his team conducted the campaign, whereas many others have defended Poilievre. Houston last week told reporters that Conservatives need to do some “soul searching.”
MacKay acknowledged it was a “mistake” and a “miscalculation” for the federal party to bar its candidates from participating in the recent Ontario and Nova Scotia provincial campaigns, which led to strong majorities for both Ford and Houston, respectively.
“I really do believe that has caused some of this ongoing problem, particularly in Ontario,” he said. “But provincially in Nova Scotia, it really isn’t an issue. After this, people have moved on quickly. MacKay, who is based in Nova Scotia, pointed to collaboration between Houston’s team and the federal Conservative campaign, as well as the increased votes for the party in Atlantic Canada overall, as proof the reports of tensions are “overblown.” He added that some members of the federal campaign leadership team will likely “move on” to “remove the thorn, if you will, from some of this real or perceived tension.”
MacKay replied, “Yes, I do,” when asked if he thought Conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne should leave.
Conservatives need ‘fine tuning,’ not overhaul after election loss: MacKay
