The pressure is increasing to the conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to say goodbye to Jenni Byrne, his national campaign manager, whom critics responsible for the electoral defeat of the party last month, sources told Radio-Canada.
“After a loss, the heads have to roll,” said a conservative.
“If Jenni Byrne stays, we will not be able to support Pierre,” added a second.
“If there are no changes between now and January, Caucus will lose patience,” said a third.
The discontent within the conservative ranks continues to grow three weeks after the liberals won a fourth mandate in the government, the sources said. Many conservatives blame Byrne, the campaign architect and the confidant of Poilievre, for the loss.
“There is only one head that needs to roll, and that is Jenni’s. You don’t realize how everyone as a trash,” said a conservative source.
Radio-Canada spoke with 12 conservative sources for this story. They were granted confidentiality to discuss internal matters of the parties.
Some complain about the “toxic and angry” behavior of Byrne at the campaign headquarters. Others deplore their lack of communication with the teams in the field. Even others feel that it is their fault that Pailievre’s campaign message does not adjust enough against the tariff threats of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Her detractors point out that she directed the conservative campaign when Stephen Harper lost to Justin Trudeau in 2015. In her opinion, it is because of her that relationships are tensed between Poilievre and the Prime Minister of Ontario, Doug Ford.
“When he spent too much time with Stephen Harper, he took out his bad side,” said a conservative source. “She has the same effect on Pierre Poilievre. He is responsible for her negative tone. Everything is a war for her.”
Byrne and the Conservative Party did not respond to comments requests. The leader of the opposition office declined to comment.
In Byrne defense
However, some conservatives are anxious to defend Byrne and prove it for the profits that the party obtained in the elections.
The Conservative Party won 143 seats, its highest number since most Stephen Harper won in 2011. And the game won more than 41 percent of the popular vote, its highest percentage from Brian Mulroney in 1988.
A campaign strategy aimed at winning the union and blue -neck vote in working -class areas, and the ethnic and cultural vote in the Toronto suburbs, helped limit the liberals to a minority, these conservatives are loyal to Byrne.
At the beginning of the first conservative meeting of Caucus on May 5, the first of the party since the electoral loss, Pailievre seemed to reject the idea of saying goodbye to Byrne when asked about her.
“Excluding people is never the way to expand a team,” the conservative leader told journalists before the meeting.
But within that same meeting of the post -election Caucus, which lasted eight hours, the parliamentarians raised the issue of Byrne’s departure.
“It became respectfully and without aggression,” said another conservative source. The discussion “did not last too long. The boss knows very well that it is an irritant,” added the source.
But conservative troops still do not know what Fate Poilievre has reserved for its campaign manager.
A convention earlier than expected?
The recent news that the conservative convention, scheduled for next spring in Ottawa, could take place as soon as this fall in Alberta is reviving the pressure.
Earlier this month, conservative parliamentarians voted in favor of the Reform Law, which gives them the power to have a vote of non -confidence in the leader at any time. The celebration of the Convention of the East Autumn party, with a vote of confidence in the entire conservative base, is seen by some as an attempt to avoid such efforts of Caucus.
The conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who speaks from Parliament Hill on Tuesday while walking to meet with his caucus, is asked what he learned from the elections, which left him without a seat in the House of the Commons.
“Pierre Poilievre wants to solve the issue of his leadership by a vote of the members as soon as possible to get rid of this distraction and not give their detractors time to organize,” said a conservative source.
“If the members decide to give Pierre their vote of confidence in the convention, it becomes much more difficult for parliamentarians to justify a vote of non -trust later,” said another source. “How could the parliamentarians go against the desires of the range and the file?”
The Conservative Party Executive will meet on June 14 to discuss the date and location of the National Conference.
Fatigue between troops
Caucus, said a conservative source, runs out after three acrimonant leadership races and four general elections in 10 years.
“Fatigue has taken over,” said the source. “Everyone is tired of fighting.”
The most conciliatory tone Pailievre adopted from the night of the elections, and the fact that the leader lost his seat and will have to win a partial choice in Alberta to return to the commons in a few months, seems to help cool dissatisfaction.
“No one seems ready to make this their hill to die. If Jenni can recognize the key people in the Caucus who has learned from their mistakes, it could help her survive,” said a conservative source.
“We will see where things go,” a conservative recently confided. “We will give summer summer to be chosen and think things. We will see in autumn.”
Despite fatigue and internal debates, the desire to see Byrne leaves between a good part of the conservative movement, according to several sources.
“Jenni is a bully that operates for threats. Many parliamentarians are afraid or hate it,” said a conservative.
“If Jenni stays, it means they don’t understand it,” said a different source.
“Pierre needs to change his negative personality and get Jenni,” said another conservative. “Otherwise, it is Caucus who varys to the leader.”
