EDITORIAL: Conservative regicide is nothing new

The reality is that these internal fights are nothing new in the Conservative Party.

Ever since the Justin Trudeau Liberals won the 2015 election, the Conservative Party has been electing new leaders and, after one election, dumping them. The subtext of this ongoing regicide is the age-old battle between red and blue Tories and movement Conservatives versus those who believe ideological purity doesn’t matter unless you win. This ongoing fight burst into the open again last week when Postmedia’s Brian Lilley, one of the most influential conservative columnists in the country, wrote a column titled “Does Pierre Poilievre actually want to be prime minister?”

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THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Lilley criticized Poilievre for picking fights with Conservatives — including Premier Doug Ford and his chief political strategist Kory Teneycke — that Lilley argued he needs to form alliances with if he’s going to defeat Mark Carney and the Liberals.

Poilievre had used his introduction of newly-elected B.C. Conservative Party Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay at a Calgary Stampede barbecue to take a shot at Ford and his team, congratulating her on “a big win against Liberal lobbyists from out east”, a