When three Conservative leadership candidates met last week for a debate, the same word was repeated over and over. Unity. Or more precisely, the need for it. In a contest largely seen as a battle for the party’s soul, which has shown decades-old rifts between the groups that make up its own coalition, what might it take to achieve unity after the results are revealed on September 10? As that question looms, many in the party and beyond are preparing for a scenario in which Pierre Poilievre takes the win. Much of that thinking is based on the congressman’s long-standing popularity among the incumbent base, combined with his ability to draw large crowds and sell what his campaign claims were more than 300,000 subscriptions. But after winning comes the challenge of leading. “Somebody has to think a little bit the next morning,” said Gary Keller, a former chief of staff to Rona Ambrose, who served as the party’s interim leader after losing government in 2015. Of the other 118 members of the parliamentary committee, 62 confirmed Poilievre. This compares to the party leadership race in 2020, when the caucus was more evenly split between Peter MacKay and the eventual winner, Erin O’Toole. O’Toole’s inability to manage the caucus after the Liberals lost the 2021 election ultimately led to his downfall. He was forced out by a vote of his MPs under the provisions of the Reform Law, measures which will remain in place for the next leader. Poilievre said his campaign message of “freedom” serves as a great unifier among Conservatives. But Keller said if some in the caucus take that to mean they can say whatever they want on social media, they shouldn’t. “I think people will be put off by that concept alone.” Poilievre and his supporters have been accused throughout the race of sowing discord in the party by inciting personal attacks against opponents, notably former Quebec premier Jean Charest. More recently, MPs supporting Poilievre — along with Scott Aitchison, a rural Ontario representative and leadership contender — have questioned whether Charest, who has spent the past 20 years out of federal politics, plans to stay in the party after the match is over. Longtime British Columbia MP Ed Fast, co-chairman of Charest’s campaign, tweeted “the purity tests must stop” and warned party members that when the Conservatives are divided, the Liberals win. Fast himself resigned from his role as economic critic after criticizing Poilievre’s vow to fire the governor of the Bank of Canada, which ruffled feathers in the caucus. “It is a sad state of affairs that Jean Charest, a patriot and champion of Canadian unity, continues to have his faith challenged by members of the party who seek to foment division,” said Michelle Coates Mather, his campaign spokeswoman. “What’s the end game here exactly? Lose the next federal election by alienating Conservative members who support Charest? It seems like poor strategy for a party that wants to expand its base and win federal elections.” While Poilievre enjoys the majority support of the party’s caucus, most of the party’s 10 Quebec MPs support Charest, leaving open the question of what happens next if he fails. Asked recently about that possibility, MP Alain Rayes, who is organizing Charest’s campaign, expressed confidence in the former Quebec premier’s chances, saying the party does not need “American-style divisive politics.” “I am deeply convinced that our members will make the right choice,” he said in a statement. The Center Ice Conservatives, a center-right advocacy group formed during the leadership race, argues the party has room to grow if it leaves the fringes and focuses on issues that matter to the mainstream. Director Michael Stuart says both Charest and Poilievre have policies that speak to centrists, and what they hear from their group’s supporters is a desire for more focus on “table issues” like economic growth and jobs. “There’s a lot of distraction with the noise around vaccines and the convoy and things like that.” Not only did Poilievre support the “Freedom Convoy,” he used his message of “freedom” to campaign on the anger and frustration people felt over government-imposed COVID-19 rules, such as vaccine and mask mandates . How it will handle social conservatives also remains an open question. Poilievre has pledged that no government under his leadership will introduce or pass legislation restricting access to abortion. Jack Fonseca, director of political operations for the anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition, said many of those who strongly oppose vaccine mandates also share values ​​with social conservatives. “They are very much pro-freedom, pro-family and yes, even pro-life and pro-faith,” he said. Social conservatives have traditionally been a well-mobilized part of the party’s base during leadership races and helped deliver victories for O’Toole and former leader Andrew Scheer, who is now helping Poilievre in the race. While Fonseca and other anti-abortion groups are encouraging members to choose social conservative candidate Leslyn Lewis as their first choice, she said the “liberty conservatives” Poilievre hired will wait for results. That includes giving Lewis a critic role, he said. “He will be forced to face that reality and deliver on policy commitments to the libertarians and social conservatives that make up his base.” “If it’s not done, the danger is you become flip-floppers like Erin O’Toole,” he said, referring to the former leader’s promises after winning the leadership.

Purity testing must stop. Trudeau wins when @CPC_HQ is divided. @jeancharest_ always showed up for Conservatives and Canadians. He was clear: He will work with all Conservatives during and after this leadership race to defeat Trudeau. — Ed Fast (@HonEdFast) August 5, 2022 This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 7, 2022.