Defeated B.C. Conservative leadership candidate tells Poilievre ‘its time to unite, not divide’ after ‘lobbyists’ remark

Caroline Elliott and Pierre Poilievre are shown in this combination photo. (Caroline Elliott / Facebook, THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Defeated B.C. Conservative leadership candidate Caroline Elliott is calling out federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over a remark he recently made about her campaign, imploring him to “unite, not divide” Canadian Conservatives.

Elliott’s comments, made in a video posted to social media on Thursday, were in response to Poilievre congratulating her opponent and newly elected B.C. Conservative Party Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, during a speech at the Calgary Stampede.

Noting some of the fellow Conservatives in the room, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Poilievre directed attention to Findlay, who he called “the future premier of British Columbia.”

“Way to go. Fresh off a big win against Liberal lobbyists from out east,” Poilievre said.

The comment was quickly interpreted to be directed at Elliott, who placed a close second in the provincial Conservative leadership race.

Elliott’s campaign was managed by Kory Teneycke, who was also Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s campaign manager, and is a continued advisor and regular commentator on CTV News. There were several other former Conservative staffers from both federal and provincial levels who also joined team Elliott.

Taking the “liberal lobbyists from out east” critique head-on, Elliott defended her record as a “born-and-raised British Columbian and lifelong federal Conservative voter,” and called on Poilievre to set aside personal disputes and focus on winning.

“I voted for you in your own CPC leadership race. My family and friends donate to you at my encouragement. I’ve attended events and knocked on doors for you, spoken up for you on social media... So, your MPs and now you, personally celebrating my defeat in the B.C. Conservative leadership race is disappointing,” Elliott said.

“The race is over, and it’s time to unite, not divide. Because here’s the thing: in that race, my team – made up of many of your own former staff – broke records not just in total dollars raised, but in the number of small donations from every corner of B.C.”

Elliott – who secured 49 per cent of the vote, while Findlay secured 51 per cent – went on to cite what she viewed as other strengths in her campaign including driving key issues, and engaging new Conservative voters.

“Politics is about addition, not subtraction, putting the public interest ahead of personal disputes, welcoming people in, not shutting them out. I’ll keep fighting every day to bring people together for the future of my province and our country,” she said.

“I just hope you decide to do that too.”

Reacting to Elliott’s video, former Alberta premier and longtime Conservative Jason Kenney – who endorsed Elliott in the leadership race – posted a trio of applause emojis.

Poilievre focused on wrong fight, Teneycke says

In an interview about the situation, Teneycke said it appears as if Poilievre is “trying to win a fight against other Conservatives as opposed to focusing on winning a fight against the Liberals.”

“They’ve been having trouble in the polls, and the reaction to that, rather than reaching out and growing their coalition, is to turn inward and to try to ignite a civil war within the Conservative Party. To what to what purpose?” he said. “Certainly not to the benefit of the Conservatives’ chances of winning the next election. You know, it’s very hard to win a battle when all the muskets are pointed at each other.”

Teneycke said what the federal party, and Poilievre, need for electoral success is a bigger team and broader coalition. “And I fail to see how you’re going to achieve that if you spend all your time attacking,” he said.

A few former Poilievre staffers told CTV News they don’t feel the situation – and recent related chatter among Conservatives on social media – mean Poilievre’s leadership is in question.

Though, they did acknowledge on a not-for-attribution basis that they would like to see less infighting, and more of the version of Poilievre that he presented earlier this year when he participated in long-form podcasts in the U.S. and U.K. to broaden his appeal.

“We saw about two weeks of him trying to take a different approach, and so you know obviously, there’s some ability to change, but whether that can be sustained, I think is really the question,” Teneycke said. “I think the chances that Pierre Poilievre ever becomes prime minister are slim and on their way to none.”

Asked why he think there isn’t more pressure on Poilievre’s continued leadership, Teneycke attributed it to “unprecedented amounts of bullying on the part of their leadership team and the pack of online trolls that that follow in their wake.”

“You’ll be more successful in maintaining your leadership if you’re reaching out and making friends as opposed to making snide comments at every Conservative in the land that isn’t you,” he said.

CTV News has asked Poilievre’s office for comment.

With files from CTV News’ Jeremie Charron and Stephanie Ha