James Moore: Conservatives need to level up their policy game

Pollsters Shachi Kurl and David Coletto discuss the challenges facing Pierre Poilievre as he heads into his leadership review.

James Moore is a former federal cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and is a contributing columnist for CTVNews.ca.

Much of this week and next week will see Conservative Party partisans gathering in Calgary at the party convention and in Ottawa to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Stephen Harper’s election and swearing-in as Canada’s 22^nd prime minister.

These will be two weeks for Canada’s conservative movement, filled with reflections on past successes and examining today’s challenges. Much of the discussion will revolve around the lessons that can be learned from the successes of the Harper victory of 20 years ago and what can be ported forward to 2026, as conservatives aspire to earn the privilege of governing Canada again.

There is plenty on the conversational menu: the tactics of campaigns, technology modernization in campaigns, leaders’ tours, message discipline, the evolution of data management, voter persuasion metrics, outreach to new pockets of support, sustaining the conservative youth movement and more. All of it, at least for political activists, can be fascinating and instructive about how to organize for success in politics.

Governing means tackling the inconvenient

One thing that strikes me as being a clear soft spot in the conservative game for far too long has been the insufficient stream and structure around policy development, refinement and presentation to Canadians as a party eager to govern the country.

Most everyone who runs for office has a set of issues about which they have either an expertise or a pique of passion that fuels their personal agenda for what they aspire to address in public life. But, often, the time and energy of any government is subsumed dealing with issues that are not of your choosing and are not of your political convenience.

For example, it was not the aspiration of Prime Minister Harper to take an equity position in General Motors and provide financial undergirding for the auto sector during Canada’s response to the 2008 global recession. But our government did it because we had to in the face of President Obama’s choice to financially backstop the American automakers, and Canada had to align our continental share of the financial commitment so Canada’s auto sector would retrench in Ontario for years to come.

It wasn’t ideologically our instinct to go down this road, it wasn’t cheap for taxpayers, and it created a difficult precedent for other sectors if the policy was not crafted the right way. Further, no one seeking election in 2008 imagined that this was going to be an issue that we would be trying to finesse just months later as a re-elected government in the first half of 2009.

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But that’s the thing about a country as large, complex and diverse as Canada: it is constantly challenging, intellectually complicated, and the issues and crises of the moment are rarely convenient politically.

So, among the lessons to be learned for Conservatives when the party is out of power, is that you need to spend time — when you have the convenience of time — considering areas of public policy that are not always red meat for the base, click bait for the donors, or candy for the ideological soul.

It seems clear to me that policy development needs to be a more preeminent preoccupation of Conservative Party members attending the party convention this weekend in Calgary, and the Conservative Party caucus in Ottawa in the weeks and months ahead as the party prepares for the next election campaign.

Pierre Poilievre’s political success over his career has been owed to his policy acumen, not just his rhetorical gifts and endless energy. He previously served as a cabinet minister and a parliamentary secretary under Prime Minister Harper, he was the finance critic in opposition, and he had ownership of much of the 2019 and all the 2025 national election platforms for the party. He is a policy wonk, and that is among the reasons he has the respect he has earned in the Conservative movement.

A party, not just one leader

While much of Canada’s political discourse is obsessed with polls, gossip and the stories of the day, a successful political party and movement must be built on policy ideas that address the full suite of challenges the country faces. On this front, the Conservative Party has much work to do on multiple fronts and Pierre Poilievre can’t do the work alone.

To govern Canada is a privilege, and that privilege will not be extended by the electorate to those aspiring to govern unless voters believe you have responsibly considered all the serious issues the country faces and articulated remedies.

Yes, that’s what election campaigns are for, in part, but the credibility of the party and movement going into an election campaign is earned by the habitual exhibition of commitment to policy understanding, stakeholder engagement, research and showing you care about managing the tough stuff and struggling to get the answers right for the country.

Being the official opposition is about holding the government accountable, confronting their mistakes and chastising their missteps. But that’s not all it should be. By demonstrating seriousness about the known politically inconvenient problems of today, you earn credibility with the public to be trusted with the problems that we all know will surface down the road and around the corner.

There are some Conservative MPs who have taken their roles seriously and who have offered substantial policy proposals that earn the party credibility with Canadians as an alternative government.

Alberta MP Michelle Rempel Garner has been tireless and impressive in her determination to improve Canada’s complex suite of immigration policies that have drifted astray for the past decade.

Ontario MP Scott Aitchison has distinguished himself with nuanced policies on housing and home ownership that should have broad appeal with Canadians. There are others, but they seem to be too few.

As Conservative party members gather in Calgary at the convention and as Parliament resumes in Ottawa, the credibility of the party as a true alternative government that is not only capable of considering the policy problems of today, but actually has the aptitude and appetite to want to wrestle with those issues, needs to be more on display.

Pierre Poilievre can’t do it all on his own The party needs more members, MPs, activists and candidates who want to solve problems and advance public policy and not just vent anger at the Liberal status quo.

Canadians are looking for a national alternative government, not a permanent opposition party. Do the policy work, give them what they are looking for.

More from James Moore:

• Mark Carney in 2026: Progressive pivot or Progressive Conservative?
• How a provincial leadership race could reshape Indigenous reconciliation and determine Canada’s economic future
• Canada’s ambassador to Washington may be PM Carney’s most important appointment