Ford Stands by Campaign Manager’s Critique of Poilievre Campaign, Argues ‘the Truth Can Be Painful’

April 14, 2025 TruthUSA

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has come to the defence of his campaign manager Kory Teneycke, who has accused the federal Conservative team of “malpractice” due to the party’s slide in the polls.

“He’s tough as nails, but he’s the best campaign manager in the country. And to be very frank, if Kory was running that campaign, I don’t think Mr. Poilievre would be in the position he’s in right now,” Ford said during a press conference in Toronto on April 14.

Ford said while there is still time for the Tories to turn their poll numbers around before the April 28 election, and the English and French debates may help them, “the people will decide which way they want this country to move forward.”

“But sometimes, the truth hurts,” he added.

Teneycke, who served as Ford’s campaign manager and helped him win three majority governments, was quoted in a March 27 Toronto Star article saying there is “every buzzer and alarm” going off in the Conservative campaign as polls have shifted in favour of the Liberal Party.

Then, during a Curse of Politics podcast episode on April 10, Teneycke said the Conservatives team had engaged in “campaign malpractice at the highest level” by “blowing a 25-point lead and being like 10 points down.”

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Teneycke has criticized Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s campaign for not pivoting their messaging to focus more on U.S. President Donald Trump.

The governing Progressive Conservatives’ (PC) 2025 provincial election campaign managed by Teneycke was heavily focused on responding to Trump’s tariffs and his comments on wanting Canada to be a part of the United States, with Ford often wearing a hat that said “Canada Is Not for Sale.”

Ford also put on export tariffs on the province’s electricity to the United States, which resulted in Trump threatening to double his tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Following the threat, Ford dropped the export tariffs, saying he secured a meeting with the U.S. secretary of commerce to discuss trade.

Teneycke has also played a key role in shaping the Ford PC’s policies on issues that have high impact in the media. During the pandemic, he was instrumental in ousting PC MPP Rick Nicholls from caucus for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and appeared in media interviews talking against Nicholls.

Ford won his third straight majority government in the Feb. 27 provincial election, winning 80 seats to the NDP at 27 seats, Liberals at 14 seats, and Greens at two seats. Ford said he called the early election because he needed a “clear mandate” from Ontario voters to respond to Trump’s tariffs.

While Poilievre’s Conservatives were polling in majority territory in December 2024, the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Jan. 6, Mark Carney becoming prime minister on March 14, and Trump’s tariff threats have led to a Liberal resurgence. According to polling aggregator 338Canada, the Liberals have 43 percent support, while the Conservatives are at 38 percent and the NDP are at 9 percent.

However, Darrell Bricker, CEO of polling company Ipsos Public Affairs, noted on April 14 that the current polls are showing the Liberal lead becoming smaller and the “federal race tightening” because “anxiety related to Trump and Canada has eased a bit.”

He said on a social media post that the change has “shifted voter focus back to affordability and other economic issues that favour” the Conservatives. He said it also brings the Liberal record “back into discussion,” which is again to the favour of Conservatives.

Poilievre has rejected critics who say he should pivot to focus his campaign more on Trump, telling reporters on March 31 that he should continue talking about issues like drug overdoses, the increased usage of food banks, and the country’s housing crisis.

“The unjustified threats by President Trump further strengthen the argument in favour of the ‘Canada First’ agenda that I’ve been fighting for my whole life,” Poilievre said. “We will continue, despite calls to the contrary, to talk about those things even if I am the only leader in the country that offers any change.”

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