Ontario PCs bar reporters from policy convention

Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives will not allow reporters to attend their annual gathering in Toronto this weekend, a move critics say projects an appearance of "weakness" and breaks from political norms.

The party’s director of communication says the event at the Toronto Congress Centre will be for party members only. The response comes after days of inquiries by CBC News to secure accreditation to the event.

“The Ontario PC Party Convention is a closed event and will not be open to media attendance,” spokesperson Peter Turkington said in a brief message to CBC News.

It’s not clear why the Tories decided to bar media from the annual gathering, which comes nearly a year after Premier Doug Ford won a third straight majority government. Hundreds of party delegates from across the province are set to attend, debate policy and hear from Ford during a fireside chat.

The event is set to run three days, starting Friday, and is focused on the “Protect Ontario” theme which was a key part of government's re-election campaign. 

The PC's event comes on the same weekend as the federal Conservative party holds its annual convention in Calgary. Pierre Poilievre will face a leadership review at that gathering, which is open to media. 

Typically, political parties open their annual conventions, at least in part, to journalists for coverage. Last fall, both the Ontario Liberals and New Democrats held weekend-long party conventions which were open to reporters.

University of Ottawa political science professor Geneviève Tellier called the move surprising and said it breaks from democratic norms. 

“The PC convention was supposed to be something uneventful, in the sense that I don't see any issues or challenges,” she said. “Everything should be going smoothly, but now with this decision, we will talk about it and wonder why?”

Tellier said members of the public should have insight into what members of its governing party are discussing and debating at its political conventions.

“It would be normal to keep the population updated about important decisions made at that convention,” she said. “And also where the Conservatives in general are leaning and what to expect for the coming months. So, it's really going at the heart of democracy.”

NDP strategist Melanie Richer called the move “disappointing” and criticized the PCs for dodging transparency and accountability to voters.

“It seems like it's a position of weakness instead of a position of strength,” she said of the message the decision sends.

“You want everybody to see the good news that you're telling at convention. So why wouldn't you have media?”