Conservatives fear 'dysfunctional' campaign and 'civil war' in the party: sources

As Conservative infighting over how the campaign is handling U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats spills into the open, sources within the party are describing a "dysfunctional" campaign with too much centralized power and belittling and aggressive treatment of staff.

More than half a dozen Conservatives, who spoke to CBC News on the condition they not be named for fear of retribution, describe a campaign that is "highly disorganized" and "a mess." The sources include individuals both inside and outside the campaign.

Several of the sources allege that too many decisions have to go through Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's chief strategist, Jenni Byrne.

"Jenni's in charge and that's all you know," said one Conservative campaign worker, who described the situation as dysfunctional.

There's no evidence of a master plan, said the Conservative, and people are left to figure things out themselves.

Sources said some people learned what they'd be doing on the campaign just hours before the race officially began — even though the Conservatives have been calling for an election since 2024.

One source described how the campaign didn't have some "basic stuff" in place before the writ was issued. 

Poilievre and Byrne are not inclined to listen to outside advice, sources said, relying instead on "a tight inner circle," which is composed, in part, of people who also work at Byrne's lobby firm outside the campaign period.

The frustration is amplified because Conservatives have gone from anticipating they would form a majority government to seeing a dramatic rebirth for the Liberals under its new leader, Mark Carney, fuelled by concerns over Donald Trump's plans for Canada.

CBC's Poll Tracker suggests the Liberals are now most likely to form government — and claim a majority.

CBC News reached out to the Conservative campaign about the issues raised in this story. A spokesperson declined to comment.

The tension spilled out into the open this week when veteran Conservative strategist Kory Teneycke began publicly calling out the federal campaign, suggesting it was headed for disaster.

"Look, I think for the Conservatives in the campaign cockpit, every buzzer and alarm is going off. And the plane is like going 'bzzzzz' and it's like 'pull up, pull up, pull," Teneycke told an audience Wednesday as part of a panel at Toronto's Empire Club of Canada.

He argued the Conservative campaign was wasting energy talking about concerns around the World Economic Forum and trying to link the Liberals to an initiative to boost immigration levels known as the Century Initiative, rather than leaning in on the public's concerns about the U.S. president's treatment of Canada.