'The truth hurts': Poilievre wouldn't be losing if he had my campaign manager, Doug Ford says

OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford fired off another salvo in the on-again, off-again battle between his provincial Progressive Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party, saying his own campaign manager would have avoided the federal party’s current election woes. With the Conservatives lagging behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s party since the beginning of the campaign, after enjoying a huge polling lead for the better part of two years, Poilievre’s strategy has been the subject of wide-ranging scrutiny. Kory Teneycke, who was Ford’s campaign manager during his triumphant February election campaign, has been the sharpest and most public critic, saying last month that the Conservatives will be “obliterated” if the party doesn’t shift its message . And, last week, Teneycke said Poilievre’s campaign has committed “malpractice” by losing its huge polling lead over the Liberals. On Friday, Poilievre dismissed the criticisms as coming from “Liberals and lobbyists” who are keen for him to pivot away from affordability issues. On Monday, Ford backed his campaign manager. “As for Kory, I’ve said right from day one, 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,” said Ford. “It’s still a lot of time left. We still have debates. At the end of the day, the people will decide which way they want this country to move forward. But sometimes the truth hurts,” he said. National Post Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.