CALGARY -- As he gathers his caucus in B.C. this week, Pierre Poilievre faces a tall order: unite factions and find a way to punch through in Parliament this fall, according to a number of sources who spoke to CTV News.
Federal Conservatives from across the country meet in Penticton Wednesday and Thursday, before heading back to Ottawa later this month.
Speaking to CTV News on background ahead of the retreat, one caucus source described the group as a “fractured mess,” saying many members view the event as a sort of vacation from their ridings, after working hard at home this summer, worried about losing their seats.
The source said up until last fall, caucus largely bought the message that the 2025 election loss and low polling numbers were a “temporary setback.”
But consistently lagging polling and internal division makes it “increasingly difficult for caucus to believe the narrative that we’ll be back on top one day,” the source said.
“This is what it looks like when a leader is starting to really lose the room,” said the University of British Columbia’s Stewart Prest, adding that it appears the party is struggling to “gain traction on any major issue.”
There is especially tension on how to handle the U.S. file, according to a number of sources CTV News spoke with.
Prest distilled it as a push and pull between those Conservatives who feel the party is not finding ways to “meet the moment” and defend Canadian sovereignty strongly enough, and the “offshoot” that believes Canada should find a way to “fall back in line” with Americans.
“There is clearly going to be pointed criticism, and we may hear it more, and more publicly, of Pierre Poilievre and his leadership,” Prest told CTV News about the retreat.
Conservatives often hold their caucus retreats in Ottawa. A different Conservative source told CTV News this retreat is being held in scenic Penticton, B.C., as a way to boost party morale.
That senior source acknowledged the challenge that exists is to get caucus united, particularly around how to respond to the trade war with the U.S.
“I think more unity is required in a stronger pro-Canada position,” said Hamish Telford of the University of the Fraser Valley.
“I don’t think other issues are really going to get play as long as we’re in the midst of this trade dispute, and the president of the United States is constantly trolling us,” Telford told CTV News.
Infighting and floor-crossers
Last month, CTV News reported deep concerns about Poilievre’s leadership, after speaking to 17 MPs from across the country.
Since last fall, Poilievre lost four members of caucus to the Liberals through floor crossings, a fifth left for the Senate, and two more announced they’re stepping down earlier than planned.
The summer break has seen plenty of in-fighting and grievance-airing from MPs and prominent members of the conservative movement alike, largely on social media.
Poilievre’s communications team declined to answer questions from CTV News around the caucus retreat and its goals over the past week and a half.
James Moore told CTV News that getting the whole team together in one room ahead of the fall session of Parliament and “getting everybody aligned, is a really important part of the duties of the leader of the official opposition.”
The former Conservative cabinet minister has attended his fair share of caucus retreats.
Moore points to a fall full of “very big political moments,” including the Quebec election, Alberta referendum, first federal budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s majority, U.S. midterms, and, of course, the ongoing trade war.
“The official opposition being co-ordinated, united, and effective will be good for the country. It will be important for the country to have an opposition that is focused on the big issues, not sideshows.”
Moore said whether the party is able to focus on an economy under duress from tariffs and American trade policies, rather than “side issues” will determine whether Conservatives can see a “real rebound in their public opinion approval with Canadians.”
He said internal drama can wait for now, with no election immediately on the horizon.
Turmoil in the B.C. Conservative Party
For his part, Poilievre has largely avoided weighing in on internal squabbles.
The standout exception of this was his June remark about B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay winning in spite of “Liberal lobbyists from out east.” The comment was aimed at Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s former campaign manager Kory Teneycke.
Findlay has since seen nine of her members of the legislature leave her party.
She is attempting to win a seat in the Abbotsford-Mission riding byelection on Sept. 26 – targeting territory a few hours’ drive from where her former federal caucus members meet this week.
“For better and for worse, for the Conservatives, B.C. is a kind of a microcosm for the debates and the problems that face conservatism in the country more broadly,” said Prest.
“I don’t think that Pierre Poilievre wants to be too closely attached to her or the turmoil in the B.C. Conservative Party. I think he’s hoping that they can keep those two entities separate, and they might be able to do so with Kerry-Lynne Findlay focused on the byelection here,” said Telford, speaking to CTV News from Abbotsford B.C.
Telford and several others CTV News spoke with for this story were quick to mention how hard hit the broader Okanagan region of B.C. has been in recent months by forest fires and mass evacuations.
Telford says he hopes caucus is coming to “show some solidarity with this community that’s been through a tough time, and bring some much needed revenue,” through the hotel, restaurant and other hospitality bookings that come with a political retreat of that size.
One senior Conservative source told CTV News while the location was picked months earlier, the party very much wants to show solidarity with the community.
The source said they were slightly worried about how they would be received given the fires’ impact, but so far, their presence has been very welcomed.
