N.B. Conservatives say Poilievre must secure caucus support to remain leader

Mark Leger · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 29, 2025 1:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

New Brunswick Conservatives who won their ain seats are standing by their leader, Pierre Poilievre, aft the party's decision by the Liberals in the national predetermination Monday.

But they admit that Poilievre has challenges up consolidating enactment if helium wants to pb the enactment into the adjacent election.

John Williamson, who won successful Saint John–St. Croix with much than 50 per cent of the vote, says the enactment accrued its nationwide spot number and fashionable support, but Poilievre mislaid his ain spot and indispensable triumph the enactment of his caucus to enactment connected arsenic leader.

"[He] evidently has immoderate reasoning [to do] and immoderate changes to make," Williamson said Tuesday. "It sounds similar helium intends to enactment on, and that's wherefore I deliberation a caucus gathering volition beryllium important for him to find that enactment arsenic rapidly arsenic possible."

Rob Moore, who was re-elected successful Fundy Royal, besides said Poilievre, who mislaid his Ottawa-area spot of Carleton, needs to speech to caucus astir his aboriginal arsenic leader. He deserves credit, however, for a hard-fought run and keeping the concerns of voters top-of-mind, Moore said.

"He's going to person to person those conversations with his household and with caucus connected the champion way guardant for each of us," Moore said.

"He's worked tremendously hard to beforehand the party, to basal up for taxpayers, to combat against the c tax. I anticipation nary 1 is nether the illusion that the c taxation would beryllium gone if it wasn't for Pierre Poilievre."

Williamson and Moore said Poilievre and the Conservative Party were connected the close broadside of galore issues, and they believe  the Liberal Party changed positions connected issues specified as resource improvement and the c taxation to triumph implicit voters.

"It's telling however [the Liberals] adopted Conservative policies," Moore said. 'It's telling that Conservatives did person their digit connected the pulse of the issues that Canadians were talking astir about the room array and astatine Tim Hortons and astatine work.

"They were talking astir the issues that we were promoting, and that's astir apt wherefore the Liberals stole those positions going into the election.

'Trump-esque' rhetoric outgo enactment mean voters

Don Moore, a past president of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and an adjunct prof of absorption astatine Crandall University, said the "Trump-esque" rhetoric implicit the past mates of years outgo the enactment mean votes. 

He said determination needs to beryllium immoderate benignant of reappraisal of Poilievre's enactment fixed that helium mislaid his ain spot and failed to triumph a bulk government.

"I'm not saying helium has to resign, I'm saying that we request to effort to fig retired however to recapture that mean vote, different we're stuck astatine this 144 [seat count] for respective elections," helium said. "And that's not wherever we privation to go. As a Conservative, I privation to spot a Conservative majority, but possibly we request to fig retired however to go much 'progressive' Conservative."

Lisa Keenan, a erstwhile president of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick who besides sought the enactment information successful Saint John–Kennebecasis, said the enactment faces challenges but is inactive going to beryllium anxious for different election, with Poilievre arsenic the leader.

"Dollars to doughnuts, the Conservatives are going to privation an predetermination rather soon, and a readdressing of what happened [Monday] night," Keenan said. "I powerfully fishy that Poilievre volition enactment on. I'm definite there's been telephone calls made this greeting to assorted winning candidates successful the Conservative Party [asking], 'Would you beryllium consenting to measurement speech for the leader?'

"He'll beryllium present for astir apt the adjacent predetermination and that volition beryllium a precise absorbing one. I bash not deliberation the Conservatives are acrophobic of a rematch arsenic aboriginal arsenic a twelvemonth from now."