‘If this was a poker game, this is a big tell’: Conservative ads go all-in on softening Poilievre’s sharp edges, say politicos

Former Tory campaign director Fred DeLorey says Liberals have made a ‘huge strategic mistake’ by allowing Poilievre to define himself first.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, right, arrives for his first caucus meeting as party leader on Sept. 12, 2022, with his wife Anaida, and son and Cruz. Nearly a year later, Poilievre is counting on both to help him rebrand as a softer-edged family man as part of a multi-million dollar ad campaign.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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BY STUART BENSON

August 16, 2023

With a steadily increasing lead in the polls and plenty of money from its motivated base, the Conservative Party would have been “foolish” to wait until the next federal election to address the glaring “red flags” warning of leader Pierre Poilievre’s “historicall...

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