Pierre Poilievre's BIGGEST Threat? Doug Ford - Episode #137!

Welcome to Tav's Headline News Reviews! 

Join the conversation as we explore the potential challenges to Pierre Poilievre's leadership, with a focus on Doug Ford's influence and impact on Canadian politics. As the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Poilievre faces various obstacles, but could Doug Ford's presence be a significant threat to his leadership? In this video, we delve into the world of Canadian politics, analyzing the relationships and dynamics between key figures, including Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre. With expert insights and in-depth analysis, we examine the potential consequences of their interactions and the future of the Conservative Party. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Thanks for joining us on Saturday, April the 18th, 2026. Today we're going to take a look at who is the biggest threat to Kira Poly of his leadership in the Conservative Party. And I think it's Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario. I don't think the Premier of Alberta is looking to become the leader of uh Conservative Party or has those ambitions. And I don't think it's materialized or nor sh nor has she shown any indication that she would like to get in into the conservative party's leadership. But right now, there is nobody in the wings that can take Pierre Polyev's place. The only person would be Doug Ford, who is very popular in the most important province in Canada as far as when there's an election. And he has a huge following, uh base following, and he has a good organization as far as campaigning, especially in the province. So that's what we're going to take a look at today and see if there's any kind of threat to Pierre Paliev. So what's the reality right now for Pierre Polliot as leader of the Conservative Party? He remains firmly in control of his Conservative Party. Let me remind everybody that he won 87% support in the in this past leadership review that happened earlier this year. He has a strong mandate from the party. He has a strong base that supports him. He did, the last election did get more votes than any conservative leader in Canada's history. But despite all that, there's pressures building up, and there seems to be always another piece of bad news for Pierre Paul. Even though he's trying to change his persona and the way he presents himself to Canadians, he still seems to be pushing up against the wind. There's internal criticism within his party on uh his strategy, and that tone persists. And Pierre has tried to adjust, but I think he still needs to adjust even further. He's had multiple NPs from the Conservative Party cross the floor, and there are whispers or rumors that there are more to come, and that's only going to hurt him even more. So as these things keep hitting him, he becomes weaker, people start doubting his leadership and they look for an alternative. Now that the liberals have a majority, everybody's got three years till 2029 to think about it. And do they want to be the ones that have been thinking about crossing? Do they want to sit there in their seat on the on the opposition side for another three years? And maybe they want to come over to the liberal side and get a little bit of power. But those are the challenges that Pierre Polliott faces. Um, and there is nobody within the party that can take his place right now, but there are some people, premiers in Canada, that have a high profile in Canada and could challenge him. And Doug Ford is definitely one of those individuals. So why do I say that he Doug Ford is Pierre Polyev's biggest threat? Not because that he's my premier, and I do see him in action, and I do uh think he's doing a great job. But Doug Ford is not openly challenging Pierre Polyev, but he is a major player, major influence um in the conservative ranks, conservative party. He's seen as pragmatic, uh friendly, conservative, core conservative values, and privately criticized Pierre Polyev's last campaign approach and then last election. That's one thing he did do. Ford strengths that that make him a threat to Pierre Polyev is he's won three consecutive major government elections in Ontario. He's built a reputation that he uh gets things done, and he's a no-nonsense individual. National profile, he's been a strong voice against the United States and President Trump. He's been um the individual that uh that we should fight dollar for dollar against the president and not back down. So, you know, people around Canada that feel very strongly uh also support Doug Ford and that and like that kind of attitude against the United States. And he was one of the first people to go down to Washington to try to hammer out a deal when this whole tariff war started. But you know, Ford represents a different style to the Conservative Party. Tough sticks to his his policies, and he would be more electable in urban areas in Canada. I think he would struggle with if it was an election within cities. Urban, I think he's that's his his uh bread and butter because he's very he he he gives you the the persona or or or image that he's a tough guy, and he is a tough guy, and he sticks by his guns, and when he makes a mistake, he says he's made a mistake and he reverses it, and he's shown many examples of that. So I say he's uh probably the biggest threat. So this is nothing new. This is something that's been discussed even last year. Uh there was some discussion whether uh Ford was going to uh run for uh conservative leadership, but it never materialized. But you know, the reason the main reasons why he's he's a threat as well is that he uh does appeal to moderates and uh suburban voters. Uh Pierre Polyev struggles more with uh the broader nation appeal across Canada, and we can see that in the polls. It's because of the tariff war. And his, I would say he hasn't been as aggressive as he should be against the United States in regards to the tariff war, where Doug Ford has been very aggressive. I mean, he actually put a tariff on supplying electricity into the United States, and then he had to back down, but he actually went ahead and did it. There's internal party tensions, ongoing friction between the federal conservatives and uh Ford's uh provincial um party. Some NPs and insiders see Ford's approach as a better power uh versus Pierre Polyev's approach right now. There is a sort of like a problem right now with the leadership of the Conservative Party. And I think the members within the party are sort of on the fence and they don't know what to do. Do I sit here for another three years? Or do I go across the floor? Do I try to uh create a situation where this the leadership is challenged? If if Pierre Polyev loses another election or the polls get even worse on Pierre Polyev, I think something is going to happen. But definitely Doug Ford would be a um one of those alternatives, that's for sure. So now let's take a look at why Ford would not be a direct threat to uh Pierre Polyev. We can't just say you know, give you reasons why he is a threat. Let's give you reasons why he's not a threat, or or points that he's not a threat the way I see it. Um indication that Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, is planning to move to the federal stage, the national stage. That's number one. I've never heard him say it, and I don't think he's planning to make that move unless you know he starts getting approached or people start trying to convince him. He remains focused in governing Ontario, he's committed to it. Like I said, he has won three straight elections, and at some point he's gonna want to do something else, and maybe moving to the national stage will be the next step. But right now, there's no indication that he wants to do that. Pierre Polyev still has a strong support within his uh conservative party. He has a very stable, strong base. He did win uh by a high percentage, more than what the pundits had predicted. Let's make that point. A lot of them thought he was going to get 70%, 75%, under 80%. Well, he exceeded that. He does have organizational control over his party right now and the caucus. The problem is that I think there are members within his caucus that are questioning the strategy. And you know, when a leader is being going through rough a rough time, or there's some whispers of leadership being challenged, people sort of start questioning what really is going on. And right now, like I said, there is no nobody within the conservative party on the federal stage that can take Pierre Polyev's place. That person hasn't materialized, and uh there's no need for it right now. But uh definitely Doug Ford is somebody that uh would definitely be able to uh challenge that for sure if the Conservative Party was ever looking for a replacement for P. So what are my big picture takeaways? Well, short term, Pierre Polyev is safe, but midterm uh represents a shadow behind Pierre Polyev that's been there since last year, but really hasn't come to the to the uh forefront. Um long term, if the conservatives keep losing members to the liberals and the and the polls continue to sink, because definitely Pierre Polyev is what's dragging the Conservative Party down, but now that there's no there's not going to be an election until 2029, it gives Pierre Polyov and the Conservative Party a little bit of breathing room. I do think that Daniel Smith from Alberta is another person that would be perfect for the national stage. I think she has all the qualities. She's very smart, she's very articulate, and I've seen her side by side with other politicians, and um, I think she would be a perfect fit. Whether she'd want to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, I don't know. Again, like Doug Ford, I haven't heard either one of them say that they have an interest in getting on um on the federal stage. I don't see it right now. Let me know your comments and thoughts regarding this story. I'd I would like to hear what you think. Uh, thanks for watching. Be safe, and we'll see you on the next one.