Political divide widens between Ontario and Federal Conservatives as Conventions overlap

July 17, 2025

RED FM News Desk

A growing political rift between Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives and the federal Conservative Party is becoming more evident, especially as both groups plan separate conventions in the same week.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party is holding its provincial convention from January 30 to February 1, 2026. Meanwhile, the federal Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, are set to gather in Calgary from January 29 to 31, where a key leadership review of Poilievre will take place.

The timing of the two events — both major political conventions scheduled for the same week — is a clear signal that cooperation between the provincial and federal branches of the party is limited.

Relations between Ford and Poilievre have been noticeably cold. Although Poilievre became federal Conservative leader in 2022, the two leaders did not speak until March 2025. Ford had previously criticized Poilievre’s election strategy, blaming it for the party’s failure to win the 2025 federal election. Poilievre, in turn, dismissed Ford’s advisers as “Liberals and lobbyists” who, he claimed, wanted him to stop addressing key issues like inflation and housing.

Ford’s campaign manager, Kory Teneycke, said the decision to hold the Ontario convention that week was based on practical reasons such as fundraising opportunities and the start of the new financial year. “There’s no interference,” Teneycke stated. “We don’t get involved in their affairs, and they don’t in ours.”

Despite the overall chilly relationship, some Ontario provincial leaders have supported Poilievre. Cabinet Minister Caroline Mulroney campaigned for him, and another Ontario minister, Parm Gill, ran as a federal candidate in Milton East-Halton Hills South, narrowly losing by just 21 votes.

Poilievre himself lost his own seat in the April 2025 federal election. He is now attempting a comeback by contesting a by-election in Alberta’s Battle River–Crowfoot riding.

Tensions between Poilievre and provincial Conservative premiers extend beyond Ontario. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has also been openly critical. After distancing himself from Poilievre during Nova Scotia’s recent election, Houston said the federal party was “good at pushing people away, not pulling them in” — a mindset he believes contributed to their disappointing national results.