Bloggers note: google translate Excuse the blanc they could not be removed in the copy and paste
Christian Noël
Journaliste au bureau parlementaire à Ottawa
Normally loquacious Tories who close themselves up like oysters and dare not speak without the approval of their leader. MPs monitored by Tory staffers inside and outside parliament. Elected officials publicly called to order for having deviated from the party line.
The words and actions of Conservative MPs are scrutinized by the leader's office. Partisanship is encouraged. Fraternizing with elected officials from other parties is a no-no.
The Conservative Party of Canada currently has 119 members sitting in the House of Commons.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Sean Kilpatrick
Those who follow these rules are rewarded. Those who break them often have to face the consequences. There are always several people in the penalty box
, says one caucus member.
The boss comes first. You should not do anything to embarrass him.
A conservative source
For over a year, Radio-Canada has spoken confidentially with more than a dozen elected officials, employees and members of the Conservative Party of Canada from several provinces, to allow them to express themselves freely. All note a tightening of caucus discipline under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre.
Since being elected leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre has been touring the country holding rallies, building support for the upcoming federal election. (File photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Christine Muschi
"Since Pierre has been leader, we feel a difference
," says a source close to the Conservative leader. " The deputies are not taking their ease too much, they are being careful
," she continues.
But within the Conservative ranks, some people are beginning to feel that the atmosphere is heavy, and that MPs are not given enough room to manoeuvre.
Some elected officials feel like they come to caucus to be told what to do and what to think
by the leader, one source laments. Sometimes the leader listens to suggestions. But often, his mind is already made up.
It's often a one-way conversation
, adds another source.
In 2024, the Conservative Party set a fundraising record with more than $20.8 million raised in just six months. (File photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Spencer Colby
"It's not ideal, but it works
," says one of them. The Conservatives have a 15 to 20 point lead in several polls.
When you're leading, it's easy to maintain discipline within the caucus. But if there's a collapse in the polls, then we'll see.
A Conservative MP
Repeat the slogans
If the leader invents a new slogan, we know we'll have to use it
, says a conservative source.
Pierre Poilievre was ejected from the House after calling Justin Trudeau a "wacko" in denouncing his policies on hard drugs, a term deemed unparliamentary by the Speaker of the Commons. (File photo)
Photo: Screenshot: X/PierrePoilievre
For example, the term wacko .
Pierre Poilievre was expelled from the House of Commons in April for using the word and refusing to retract his comments about Prime Minister Trudeau.
Before this incident, the term had only been used in the House twice in 18 months.
After this incident, the use of the word wacko
exploded among Conservative MPs, who repeated it a hundred times in six months.
Those who repeat the slogans are rewarded
, notes a conservative source.
They get public praise in front of the entire caucus for being good cheerleaders . And they get more speaking time in the House and during question period, the source continued.
Pierre Poilievre is committed to boosting Canadians' paycheques by cutting taxes and creating conditions where work is better rewarded. (File photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Ethan Cairns
Conversely, those who refuse to parrot are wasting their speaking time, another conservative source points out.
Message Control
It's radio silence at the entrance to Conservative caucus meetings. Every Wednesday morning, journalists fire questions at the arriving MPs. Almost all of the elected officials pass by without answering. Sometimes avoiding the journalists' gaze.
Every week that Parliament sits, reporters wait outside the Conservative and Liberal caucuses, a decades-old practice to get reactions from MPs before they meet. (File photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
Yet MPs from other parties do not hesitate to answer questions from journalists. And when Erin O'Toole and Andrew Scheer were leaders, many Conservative MPs stopped by every Wednesday.
Early in the Poilievre era, a press secretary for the leader was seen a few times signaling to MPs not to stop in front of the cameras. Like a police officer directing traffic, he appeared to be waving them into the room without responding to reporters.
More recently, press officers from Pierre Poilievre's office have been systematically monitoring the entry points to parliament and inserting themselves into the press scrums of journalists with elected officials, in order to capture the exchanges. The Conservative Party is the only one to act in this way at these locations.
Conservative MPs are reluctant to answer journalists' questions without receiving the green light from their leader Pierre Poilievre. (File photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
Result: several Conservative MPs who were not so strict are now hesitant to grant interviews to journalists without first receiving approval from Pierre Poilievre's office.
This is a somewhat normal reflex. The leader's entourage wants to limit the risks as much as possible and let the leader, the best communicator in the group, do the bulk of the work.
Yan Plante, former Conservative advisor under Stephen Harper
According to Yan Plante, holding the leash too tight also has disadvantages. It can demobilize a caucus. Over time, it becomes an internal threat. It becomes a situation where you also have opposition within your caucus
, he explains.
part 2
Monitoring
In addition, Conservative staffers keep an eye on the actions of MPs. Who talks to reporters? Who deviates from the party line? Who fraternizes with MPs from other parties? Journalists have seen them taking notes. According to our sources, these escapades are reported to the leader's office.
Everything is monitored. What we say, what we do, who we talk to. We are told not to fraternize with MPs from other parties. And that is not normal.
A conservative source
To be a good MP, you have to create connections, build relationships with other elected officials, continues the same source. That's how Parliament works best for Canadians. But the leader's office forbids us from doing that.
The annual Canadian Press Gallery dinner invites party leaders to deliver humorous speeches. (File photo)
PHOTO: THE CANADIAN PRESS / JUSTIN TANG
These Conservative staffers monitor MPs' interactions not only in the House, but in the corridors of parliament and at social events, such as the Press Gallery dinner or the Speaker's Garden Party .
A press officer for Pierre Poilievre was even seen taking note of the list of Conservative MPs who were attending the Press Gallery dinner this spring. An event that Pierre Poilievre has avoided for two years. Most of his MPs too.
"We're not told not to go, but we can see that the leader isn't going, so we do the same. Otherwise, it would be seen badly
," confided a conservative, aware that the leader has strained relations with the Press Tribune.
A spokesperson for the leader of the official opposition is often present at the entrance to the caucus, documenting the speeches of the members alongside the journalists. (File photo)
PHOTO: RADIO-CANADA
Does this kind of surveillance of MPs go too far? If it is true, yes
, believes Yan Plante. Political employees were not elected by the population.
If I were an MP and it concerned me, I would go to the leader to denounce the situation and say that I will not tolerate this
, he said.
Personal discipline
Pierre Poilievre imposes an iron discipline on himself. He works hard. He works late. He works tirelessly. He's been told for months that he needs to take a vacation, but he doesn't listen
, says a source close to him
