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The Guardian
14-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Liberal staffers plant ‘stop the steal' pins at Canadian conservative conference
Campaigners with Canada's Liberal party had some very American-esque politicking over the weekend, when Liberal operatives were found to have planted 'stop the steal' buttons at a conservative conference to link the Conservative party to Donald Trump. Two Liberal party staffers infiltrated last week's Canada Strong and Free Network Conference (CSFN) in Ottawa at which they strategically placed provocative buttons designed to create the false impression that Conservative supporters of party leader Pierre Poilievre were embracing Trump-style rhetoric, highlighting internal party divisions. The operation was exposed when a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) politics reporter overheard staffers boasting about their actions at an Ottawa pub, where they were drinking with other Liberal war room colleagues on Friday night. One button featured the phrase 'stop the steal' – directly echoing Trump's baseless claims about the 2020 election results being stolen from him. Another displayed the name of Conservative national campaign director Jenni Byrne crossed out, with 'Kory Teneycke' written underneath – referring to a leading Conservative strategist who has been publicly bashing Poilievre. The CSFN conference, Canada's less idealistic version of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), serves as a key gathering for conservative-minded Canadians to discuss policy proposals and network. The incident comes in the final stretch of a heated campaign only weeks away from elections, in which the Liberals who hold a polling lead have consistently sought to characterize Poilievre as Canada's version of Trump. Poilievre's confrontational style with mainstream media, his 'Canada First' campaign slogan, and his frequent attacks on the CBC specifically as 'government-funded media' have fueled these comparisons, despite his insistence on fundamental differences between himself and the US president. Just this Sunday on Radio-Canada's popular talk show Tout le monde en parle, when asked if he was a 'mini-Trump, medium Trump or large Trump', Poilievre quipped about his lighter weight before emphasizing his 'completely different story' as the child of middle-class teachers compared to the US president's inherited wealth. The Liberal party confirmed the incident on Sunday evening, saying some campaigners had 'regrettably got carried away' with buttons 'poking fun' at reported Conservative infighting. Liberal spokesperson Kevin Lemkay added that Liberal leader Mark Carney had made it clear 'this does not fit his commitment to serious and positive discourse'. Over the years, Poilievre has proudly associated himself as a culture warrior for Canada's right, saying he wants the country to move away from 'woke' to 'warrior' and appearing on rightwing media like Canadian influencer Jordan Peterson's show. There have also been rumors flying around that Poilievre would appear on the wildly popular podcast hosted by Joe Rogan, a former Bernie Sanders backer in 2020 turned Trump endorser in 2024. The Liberal party has been able to take advantage of linking Poilievre to Trump after near country-wide disappointment and disapproval that followed the US president's targeting of Canada as the supposed '51st state' and choosing to include its previously friendly neighbor in mass tariffs. As a result, there has been a near-total plunge in Canadian tourism to the United States, and the Liberals hold a tight lead in the polls under new leader Carney. But in an ironic attempt to paint their opponents with the Trump brush, in the end it was the Liberals who were caught red-handed playing the very game they claim to deplore. 'Despite their public claims, it's clear that it's the Liberals who are attempting to bring American-style politics to our country,' Conservative party spokesperson Sam Lilly said in a statement to CBC.
CBC
13-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Liberal operatives planted 'stop the steal' buttons at conservative conference
Two Liberal Party staffers attended last week's Canada Strong and Free Networking (CSFN) Conference where they planted buttons that used Trump-style language and highlighted division within the Conservative Party. The conference, often referred to by its former name, the Manning Conference, is an opportunity for conservative-leaning Canadians to talk about policy proposals and network. It was held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa. Some attendees noticed buttons appearing at the event. One said "stop the steal" — an apparent reference to Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The Liberal Party of Canada has sought to tie Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to the American president in speeches and ads. Some Conservative supporters have expressed skepticism about polling numbers that put the Liberals ahead. Another button had the name "Jenni Byrne" crossed out, with the name "Kory Teneycke" underneath. Byrne is the national campaign director for the Conservative Party of Canada. Teneycke is a longtime Conservative strategist, who played a key role in Ontario Premier Doug Ford's re-election campaign. He has been deeply critical of the Conservative Party of Canada's campaign to date. The buttons were scattered in the event space in a way to give the impression that they were made and left by people attending the conference. In fact, the idea came from the Liberal war room. On Friday night, in two Ottawa bars, campaign workers shared how the party was behind this move — how two Liberal Party staffers attended the conference intended for conservatives and placed these buttons in areas where attendees would find them. One of those conversations was in the immediate earshot of this journalist. A Conservative source overheard the other conversation. The Liberal Party did not respond to a request for comment, but also did not deny their campaign's involvement. "It's unfortunate, but not surprising that the Liberals would seek to misrepresent the views of attendees of our conference," said CSFN spokesperson Alex Spence in a statement. "These divisive, gimmicky tactics say more about the Liberals than they do of the united and growing Conservative movement." Sources told CBC News that people working on the Poilievre campaign were instructed not to attend the conference, and instead be out door-knocking. "Despite their public claims, it's clear that it's the Liberals who are attempting to bring American-style politics to our country," said Conservative Party of Canada spokesperson Sam Lilly in a statement. "One wonders what other dirty tricks the Liberals are behind as they desperately seek to distract from their disastrous record while seeking a fourth Liberal term."
