In a dramatic moment of intra-party criticism, one of Canada’s most seasoned Conservative strategists, Kory Teneycke, has publicly accused Pierre Poilievre’s campaign team of “campaign malpractice,” arguing that the party has squandered a commanding lead in the polls midway through the federal election.
Teneycke, a former communications director to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and longtime campaign manager for Doug Ford, made the comments during an appearance on the Curse of Politics podcast Thursday morning.
“Blowing a 25-point lead and being like 10 points down is campaign malpractice at the highest level,” Teneycke said bluntly, referencing the dramatic reversal of fortune seen in recent polling data. “Saying you don’t believe in polls if you’re managing a campaign is delusional.”
Despite holding a double-digit polling lead for much of the past two years, the Conservatives have recently fallen behind the Liberals, now led by Mark Carney, according to the latest data from Nanos Research. The Liberals now hold a slim lead just weeks before election day.
At a rally in Edmonton this week, Poilievre supporters were seen brandishing shirts and signs reading “Do you believe the polls?”—a slogan that Teneycke criticized as emblematic of the campaign’s denial of reality. Conservative officials later said the merchandise was not authorized by the party or its campaign team.
“He’s looking and sounding a lot like Trump,” said Teneycke. “A slogan like ‘Canada First,’ arguments over rally crowd size, attacking a female reporter—it’s all very Trumpy.”
Teneycke also criticized Poilievre for failing to pivot his campaign narrative to address growing concerns among Canadians about Donald Trump’s return to the White House, which he said had become politically relevant as early as December. According to him, Poilievre has missed an opportunity to appeal to centrist or swing voters who are uneasy with rising political polarization.
Pressed on why he would speak so critically of his own party during an election campaign, Teneycke said his role now is to offer honest analysis, even if it ruffles feathers. “I’m a Conservative and I’ll vote Conservative,” he said, “but my job is to give commentary and analysis on the election campaign.”