'The truth hurts': Poilievre wouldn't be losing if he had my campaign manager, Doug Ford says

OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford fired off another salvo in the on-again, off-again battle between his provincial Progressive Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party, saying his own campaign manager would have avoided the federal party’s current election woes. With the Conservatives lagging behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s party since the beginning of the campaign, after enjoying a huge polling lead for the better part of two years, Poilievre’s strategy has been the subject of wide-ranging scrutiny. Kory Teneycke, who was Ford’s campaign manager during his triumphant February election campaign, has been the sharpest and most public critic, saying last month that the Conservatives will be “obliterated” if the party doesn’t shift its message . And, last week, Teneycke said Poilievre’s campaign has committed “malpractice” by losing its huge polling lead over the Liberals. On Friday, Poilievre dismissed the criticisms as coming from “Liberals and lobbyists” who are keen for him to pivot away from affordability issues. On Monday, Ford backed his campaign manager. “As for Kory, I’ve said right from Day One, he’s tough as nails but he’s the best campaign manager in the country. And to be very frank, if Kory was running that campaign I don’t think Mr. Poilievre would be in the position he’s in right now,” said Ford. “It’s still a lot of time left. We still have debates. At the end of the day, the people will decide which way they want this country to move forward. But sometimes the truth hurts,” he said. Infighting in the Conservative campaign burst into the open about a week into the campaign, with some insiders agreeing with Teneycke that the campaign had to tackle U.S. President Donald Trump head-on and others arguing it should stay the course and focus on pocketbook issues.

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On March 31, Poilievre said he would not stop criticizing the government for its fiscal record, rising housing costs, the fentanyl crisis and affordability issues. “Some people have said that … we should just ignore all of those things. I disagree. My purpose in politics is to restore Canada’s promise so that anyone from anywhere can achieve anything,” Poilievre told reporters during a campaign stop in Saint John, N.B . “The threats, the unjustified threats by President Trump, further strengthen the argument in favour of the ‘Canada First’ agenda that I’ve been fighting for my whole life,” he added. U.S. tariffs have to become Poilievre’s ballot box issue, said Teneycke during an event  hosted by the Empire Club in March . “These are tsunami waves that are crashing down trees and buildings and everything in their path right now,” he said. “You’ve got to get on the f—ing ballot question or you are going to lose.” Carney has suspended his campaign three times since the writ dropped, arguing that he needs to resume the role of prime minister to deal with the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs. Both leaders are in Montreal this week for press events and to prepare for the upcoming leaders’ debates. Poilievre and Carney will come face to face for the first time on April 16 during the French-language debate followed by the English debate on April 17. With files from Christopher Nardi National Post Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.