Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre faces a leadership review at his party’s convention because he failed to win government in the April vote.Mathieu Belanger/Reuters
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have scheduled a party convention the same weekend as federal Conservatives will gather to test Pierre Poilievre’s leadership.
The duelling conventions highlight the growing distance between the two parties that was laid bare during the recent federal election.
Mr. Poilievre faces a leadership review at his party’s convention, set for Jan. 29-31 in Calgary, because he failed to win government in the April vote. It centred largely around who was best placed to lead Canada through a trade dispute with the U.S.
Mr. Ford won a third consecutive majority government for his party in Ontario in February, successfully convincing the public that provincially he was the person to do that.
His party will gather Jan. 30-Feb. 1.
Kory Teneycke, Mr. Ford’s campaign manager, said the decision to hold the convention on those dates made sense for the provincial party in terms of fundraising because it is the start of a new fiscal year.
“I don’t think there’s any malice in any of that, but we make decisions for our own reasons.”
He dismissed concerns about members being torn between the two conventions.
“We’re not involved in their stuff and they’re not really involved in ours,” he said.
A spokesperson for the federal Conservatives declined to comment.
Both parties were due to hold a convention under the terms of their respective constitutions.
The federal Conservatives’ national council had originally considered holding theirs in March of 2026, but decided in June to bump up the date to January.
They picked Calgary because they could secure a venue on relatively short notice, sources told The Globe and Mail at the time.
Mr. Teneycke had harshly criticized the Poilievre Conservatives during the federal campaign, accusing them of “campaign malpractice” for blowing the lead in public support they had going into 2025.
He said Mr. Poilievre ought to have reoriented his campaign narrative to be fully about the trade dispute with the U.S.
Mr. Poilievre dismissed the comments as coming from “Liberals and lobbyists” who wanted him to stop talking about issues such as high food prices and housing costs.
Mr. Poilievre also lost his seat in the April vote and is now running in a by-election to represent the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot.