Carney puts Poilievre on the defensive; can Conservatives reclaim conservative ideas?

Pierre Poilievre scores 87.4% approval among party faithful but sits at 34% in national polling, and former campaign manager Jenni Byrne says linking U.S. trade tensions to affordability could help the Conservatives.

Pierre Poilievre remains highly popular within his party but less so with the broader Canadian public. Convention figures showed an 87.4 per cent approval rating among party faithful while Angus Reid polling put support at 34 per cent nationally. Former Conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne told the CBC that connecting the U.S. trade dispute to the party’s affordability message could be an important way to regain ground. The article argues the party focused on populist grievance themes and ceded some traditional conservative policy ground to its opponent. Key developments: - Poilievre registered 87.4 per cent approval among party delegates and 34 per cent in Angus Reid Institute national polling. - Jenni Byrne recommended linking the U.S. trade dispute to affordability as a strategic message for the party. - The author says Conservatives emphasized affordability and crime and leaned into populist grievance messaging during the last campaign. - The piece suggests it may be easier for Carney to occupy conservative policy space than for Poilievre to reframe the party’s platform. Summary: The article portrays a strategic crossroads for the Conservative Party, where choices about messaging and policy emphasis have left space for an opponent to adopt traditionally conservative nation-building ideas. Whether the Conservatives will successfully reclaim those ideas and shift their public positioning is undetermined at this time.