O'Toole Urges Poilievre to Moderate Positions After 2025 Loss

OTTAWA Former Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole urged his successor, Pierre Poilievre, on Tuesday to moderate the party's positions and ignore distractions like floor crossings and social media influencers, as questions mount about Poilievre's viability following the Conservatives' defeat in the 2025 federal election.

O'Toole, who led the party from 2020 until his ouster in February 2022, said Poilievre must adapt to a shifted political landscape under Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney. "I think they do need to moderate some of the positions to reach out to more Canadians," O'Toole said in an interview. He noted that Carney, a centrist figure replacing the more left-leaning Justin Trudeau, has repositioned the Liberals toward the center-right, requiring the Conservatives to focus on long-term prosperity rather than culture war issues or online trends.

Poilievre assumed leadership in September 2022 after O'Toole's removal, which occurred amid internal caucus unrest and the Freedom Convoy protests that paralyzed downtown Ottawa over COVID-19 restrictions. Poilievre quickly built a commanding 20-point lead in polls by late 2024, capitalizing on dissatisfaction with Trudeau's...