Mr. Poilievre goes to Calgary...

Poilievre's big win, what the mood was like and more including a great podcast.

Well, as CTV said in their headline, Pierre Poilievre survived his leadership review.

No, in fact he crushed it.

I’ll admit, part of why I went to Calgary was to see if he could pass with flying colours, and he did. For months I had been saying that he would easily get over 70% and that was the bar, anything over 70% meant he could stick around.

As the CPC convention got closer, and I had no plans to go, I started to doubt myself. Most recently in Ontario I had believed that Bonnie Crombie would easily win and she didn’t.

Well, she got 57% approval which just wasn’t enough.

What if Poilievre only got 69% or Joe Clark’s dreaded 66.9% approval and I wasn’t there?

That would have been horrible.

Also, you can’t take the temperature of a movement or a room if you aren’t there. So last minute I decided to head to Calgary and see for myself.

You can read my columns from the convention here and here.

Great to meet so many of you in Calgary…

If you doubt that I spoke to hundreds, part of the reason I wasn’t posting to social media and writing here is that I was mobbed. That’s not a complaint, it was fantastic to meet so many people who read, watch or listen to my work, but I got to the end of it and realized I hadn’t really taken any photos myself.

I’m in hundreds of selfies! I have sore cheeks from smiling so much.

By Saturday when I went to the airport to head home I had actually lost my voice. That was after dropping by Ranchman’s for the influencers gathering.

I think it was started by The Pleb Reporter but also included Mario 4 The North, Jasmin Laine, Marc Nixon and so many others. My old friend and Calgary MP Shuv Majumder dropped by as well.

It was an impressive set up, I hadn’t planned on going but was hanging out with Brett Wilson and he suggested going. By the time we got there we were being ushered in the back door, put in the VIP area and eventually were asked on stage.

Brett introduced the influencers to kick it all off and by the end, they asked me to say a few words, which I did. Thanks to Chad for capturing this video.

To get a sense of how big the audience was, check out the video below. I was told capacity of the venue was about 850 people and I’d say they were at capacity.

Unity and focus rather than dissent…

Don’t let people tell you this isn’t a united party. I spoke to hundreds of people while I was there and met one not voting for Poilievre and two who were on the fence but then voted for him after the speech.

I’ve been to many conventions and at this one, heard less grumbling than normal.

The people who were there were focused on supporting Poilievre and getting ready to take on the Liberals. This was not a convention where anyone was looking to organize against Poilievre and my view of the 12.6% who voted against him is that they were divided between those who thought he was too moderate, those who thought he was too right and those who want him to endorse Alberta independence.

A view from the convention floor…

I don’t often brag about the Full Comment Podcast. I’ll let you know about it, I will promote it, but that is about ist.

This weekend’s episode is fantastic in my view and takes you right to the convention floor with me.

You hear directly from people like Conservative MPs Michelle Rempel Garner, Chris Warkentin and Jamil Jivani. You also get to hear from people like Garry Keller and the new campaign manager for the CPC Steve Outhouse.

Listen, watch, hit subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here are the official show notes.

Brian Lilley was live on the floor of the Conservative convention in Calgary, where the party gave emphatic support to keeping Pierre Poilievre as leader — and expectations were high for the Liberal government to call an election this spring. While there, Brian spoke with longtime Conservative MPs Michelle Rempel-Garner and Chris Warkentin about why they think Prime Minister Mark Carney is more vulnerable at the ballot box than he might think. He talks to campaign manager Steve Outhouse about the strategy when an election comes; and Gary Keller, a veteran of the Conservative organization, about what could be giving Carney second thoughts. He also chats with Jamil Jivani about the party’s changing image among voters, especially younger ones. (Recorded January 31, 2026)