Poilievre is making calls to shore up support as Conservatives take stock of election results

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 5:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been connected the telephone with caucus members and enactment supporters successful the hours since the election, trying to enactment up his presumption aft helium delivered uneven results, Conservative sources told CBC News.

Poilievre, who has made it wide helium intends to enactment connected arsenic leader, is trying to illustration a way guardant present that helium finds himself extracurricular the House of Commons for the first time successful much than 20 years after losing his ain Ottawa-area seat, according to sources who spoke connected the information of anonymity to talk freely astir interior enactment discussions.

MPs could effort to oust Poilievre, similar they did with his predecessor, Erin O'Toole, through provisions of the Reform Act that empower parliamentarians to clasp a enactment review. The party's caucus would person to archetypal ballot to follow the act's enactment reappraisal powers and past cod capable signatures to punctual that process.

But astatine this aboriginal juncture, determination is not a beardown tendency to regenerate Poilievre, caucus sources said.

One caucus source, who worked intimately with Poilievre successful the past Parliament, told CBC News the person isn't facing immoderate benignant of well-organized interior absorption — astatine slightest not yet.

Another caucus root said determination is immoderate grumbling and disappointment that Poilievre blew what looked similar a immense pb earlier this twelvemonth — and past fto 12 Conservative incumbents suffer re-election successful Monday's vote — but conceded there's no serious movement afoot to get escaped of him.

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A antithetic caucus root said Poilievre is connected "very coagulated ground" aft making what this idiosyncratic called "major gains successful some spot number and ballot share" with important additions successful the Greater Toronto Area successful particular.

But determination are immoderate tensions successful the Canadian Conservative family.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, a Progressive Conservative, said Wednesday helium doesn't person immoderate benignant of narration with Poilievre and acknowledged determination was a dispute between the 2 leaders' camps during the past provincial election.

Houston said the national Conservatives volition request to bash immoderate "soul-searching" after the enactment came up abbreviated yet again against the Liberals. The enactment mislaid 2 MPs successful the province.

Progressive Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford has besides had a fractious narration with his national counterpart. Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, who tore into Ford successful a CBC News interrogation connected predetermination night, posted an anti-Ford meme connected societal media Wednesday suggesting the premier is simply a Liberal.

Speaking to reporters, Ford said Poilievre and his squad ne'er supported the Ontario PCs successful the recent provincial election. Ford's party won a monolithic bulk authorities portion voters went successful a antithetic absorption federally, the premier said.

"The radical spoke, and they spoke large and wide connected the provincial predetermination and large and wide connected the national election. That's democracy. That's who they want," Ford said.

But, for the national Conservatives, determination is sizeable "leadership fatigue" among immoderate members fixed determination person already been 4 leaders successful the past 10 years. A contention to regenerate Poilievre would devour invaluable clip and resources.

Plus, Poilievre has a batch of enactment among the party's base, arsenic evidenced by the beardown turnout astatine predetermination rallies adjacent successful the closing days of the run erstwhile polls suggested the Conservatives were going to suffer again.

There were besides brisk merchandise income of Poilievre-branded cogwheel astatine those events, a motion the leader enjoys affection among the astir loyal.

WATCH | Without a seat, Poilievre's post-election aboriginal is unclear: 

And portion immoderate antecedently held seats slipped distant to the Liberals, the party's results were quite beardown successful immoderate areas.

The Toronto-area breakthrough, particularly among South Asian and Chinese Canadian voters successful immoderate cardinal ridings, was important to holding the Liberals to a minority, enactment sources said.

They property that to suburban frustrations astir crime, successful particular, but besides cost-of-living issues similar lodging affordability — 2 issues Poilievre enactment beforehand and centre successful his run messaging.

Conservatives making inroads among working-class voters is besides a improvement to celebrate, sources said.

Like Ford, Poilievre courted private-sector national endorsements and dropped past Conservative enactment for laws wide seen arsenic anti-labour, giving him a boost successful areas similar Hamilton and Windsor, Ont.

There person been aboriginal conversations astir who could service arsenic the party's interim person of the Official Opposition, a presumption that, nether law, indispensable beryllium held by a sitting MP.

Some names that person been floated by Conservative sources are lawman person Melissa Lantsman, House person Andrew Scheer and the party's morals critic, Michael Barrett.

Those 3 person been trusted Poilievre lieutenants passim his tenure. They person been fixed leeway to talk for the enactment publicly, including during the predetermination — a enactment duty fixed to fewer different MPs oregon candidates.

Lantsman, Scheer and Barrett all endorsed Poilievre's continued enactment successful societal media posts successful the hours aft the predetermination loss.

Poilievre volition apt inquire 1 of his re-elected MPs to measurement speech truthful helium tin tally successful a byelection to get backmost into Parliament  — but that could inactive beryllium months away.

At slightest 1 re-elected Conservative MP, Chris D'Entremont, said Tuesday that Poilievre's spot nonaccomplishment is simply a problem.

"Quite honestly it's going to beryllium hard to question oregon clasp the authorities to account," helium said successful an interrogation with CBC Radio's As It Happens.

But helium questioned whether turfing a Tory MP to assistance get Poilievre backmost to the House is the close mode to go.

"I don't deliberation that's just for the idiosyncratic who conscionable ran for a twelvemonth trying to get elected successful their area, but that's a treatment we request to person arsenic a caucus," helium said.

Poilievre and his allies' speech astir coming backmost to decorativeness the combat against the Liberals soon is overly optimistic, said 1 Poilievre staffer.

The Liberals person 1 of the strongest number governments successful Canadian past — Mark Carney's squad is 3 seats abbreviated of a bulk — and the NDP is successful a precise weakened authorities with fewer resources, nary person and a miniscule caucus of 7 aft an electoral drubbing.

The NDP volition instrumentality clip to prime a caller person and it's improbable that Jagmeet Singh's successor volition privation to spell to an predetermination close away, which means different ballot is apt 18 months to 2 years away, astatine a minimum, said a Conservative staffer who is looking astatine the agelong game.

While Poilievre has been speaking to enactment bigwigs, immoderate of the staffers who helped present Monday's results haven't heard overmuch of thing astir what the aboriginal holds for them.