Conservatives have a new campaign manager. How much has really changed?
Some MPs looking for a ‘retool’ under new campaign chief
After feeling the chance to form government slip through their fingers, many Conservatives are publicly gushing over their party’s choice to lead the next campaign.
But the question still hanging in the air is just how much will actually change.
Has Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre left behind the counsel of trusted adviser and former campaign manager Jenni Byrne? And how much will the leader shift his approach with Steve Outhouse at the helm?
There’s no question the next campaign manager is widely liked. Outhouse's appointment was first reported by the Toronto Sun on Sunday and confirmed by the party to CBC News.
He spent the last two decades in Conservative politics, rising to national attention when he led Leslyn Lewis’s leadership campaign in 2020. Since then he’s led several provincial campaigns, recently coming off a big win for the Progressive Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Conservative MPs familiar with his work, like Ontario’s Andrew Lawton and Alberta’s Shuvaloy Majumdar, were quick to describe Outhouse as “a great guy.”
Saskatchewan MP Kevin Waugh said he’s heard nothing but good things, suggesting the party needs “somebody like him.”
“We need a retool,” he said.
“It's someone fresh. A lot of the MPs had dealings with him before, positively, and I think the caucus members that I talked to seem pretty excited he’s on board.”
Familiar face but fresh air
Implicit in the enthusiasm is what some Conservatives are ready to leave behind.
There’s the bitter taste of losing the last election despite having been well ahead in polling toward the end of Justin Trudeau’s tenure. Conservative strategist Kory Teneycke ensured that aftertaste lingered when he repeatedly, publicly accused the campaign of failing to adapt.
But there’s also the questions around Byrne’s style. In the lead up to the vote, Conservative sources told CBC News their campaign was "dysfunctional" with too much centralized power and belittling and aggressive treatment of staff.
"Jenni's in charge and that's all you know," said one campaign worker at the time.
Some Conservatives have questioned whether the backlash against her was sexist. Byrne told the Beyond a Ballot podcast this summer that she found all the attention “strange or perplexing.”
She said that in all her years in politics, she’d “never seen post-campaign analysis focused on a campaign manager” like it had on her following the Conservative loss.
She also argued she had at times been wrongly labelled as “some Rasputin or Svengali” making all the decisions.
Those who have worked with Poilievre describe him as an almost inexhaustible political strategist with strong views. Still, he has relied on Byrne as a political confidante and the two have ties that go back decades.
She remains an adviser to the party and someone he might choose to call on when the going gets tough. CBC News reported she was involved in recent efforts to quash further potential floor-crossings.
Then there’s Poilievre himself and his sense of just how much change is necessary in order for Conservatives to form government.
Much about his approach has remained consistent over decades. He famously wrote a prize-winning essay as a university student in 1999 explaining how as prime minister he would build his government on a platform of freedom — and indeed that was a key pitch in his first election as leader.
Earlier this month, after one MP did cross the floor and another announced his resignation from politics, Poilievre was asked whether the situation has prompted him to reflect on his own leadership style.
“No,” he said.
A shift in approach
Byrne is known for a hard-nosed approach to politics. Outhouse is likely to “put his own stamp” on the party’s plans, said Melanie Paradis, former communications director to past Conservative leader Erin O’Toole.
Paradis not only dealt with Outhouse during two Conservative leadership races, she also worked with him when he was deputy chief of staff in O’Toole’s office.
She described him as “a really good human being” who consults with his network and brings people together.
Poilievre's favourability hits lowest point since becoming leader: Pollsters | Power & Politics“I was elated when I saw the news because I think it’s a very thoughtful choice,” she said. “There was no job that was too small for him on campaigns. He’s very humble.”
His regional experience could also help the party.
“He knows Alberta well,” said Majumdar. Outhouse ran the 2023 campaign that returned the United Conservative Party to power in that province.
He also ran an unsuccessful provincial campaign in New Brunswick and the recent win in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Conservatives will be looking to make further inroads in Atlantic Canada while trying to maintain their Alberta stronghold.
Socially conservative, working across the spectrum
Outhouse is known for his socially conservative views. The Lewis leadership campaign he ran was very clear about its plans to ban sex-selective abortions and criminalize coercive abortions.
Outhouse’s own experience includes working as executive pastor at an Ottawa Baptist church.
However he told The Herle Burly podcast that when he became a Conservative “I didn’t have a special label for myself” as a particular type of Conservative.
In fact, he used to consider himself a Liberal, but described being put off as the party further distanced itself from those with anti-abortion views.
Poilievre clearly said during the last election campaign that there would be no laws restricting abortion passed if he became prime minister, adding that was a long-standing Conservative policy.
Paradis said Outhouse is a very “values-oriented human being,” but that he is also inclusive.
“His modus operandi is bringing people together in unity,” she said.
That’s something Outhouse emphasized in his October podcast appearance.
“I’ve worked well and I continue to work well with people across the spectrum, I guess, in the big blue tent. And I think we need to continue to do that if we want to win.”
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