Cory Morgan: The Conservatives’ Uneasy Relationship With the Media

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Commentary

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has never had a comfortable relationship with mass media. While the video of Poilievre last October dismissively munching an apple while Don Urquhart from the Times Chronicle futilely tried to ask him questions went viral around the world and was applauded by conservatives tired of biased media outlets, it infuriated media members.

Poilievre was further criticized by media outlets when he blocked reporters from travelling on the Conservative campaign plane with him during the current election.

Poilievre hasn’t endeared himself to the media by being outspoken against media subsidies and calling for the defunding of the CBC either. But past Tory leaders have also been subject to more scrutiny by media compared to other parties.

So far, five Conservative candidates have been removed from the race. Four of them were ejected due to past comments on social media or podcasts. The candidates’ comments were missed in the party vetting process, but they didn’t escape the scrutiny of the media as the election progressed. It’s never a good thing when a party must eject a candidate in a campaign, but it’s better to have it happen early in the campaign rather than later. The candidates can be replaced, and weeks will pass before voting day, thus giving time for the furor to calm down.

The deadline for candidates to participate in the federal election is the afternoon of April 7. If a party ejects any candidate from their ranks after that date, they will not be able to replace the candidate. That means not only will parties be much more reticent to disassociate themselves from candidates who draw controversy, but candidates becoming immersed in scandal could potentially cause much more damage to the party they represent.

A party will want to purge problematic candidates sooner rather than later. If a reporter or activist had some dirt on a candidate and wanted to maximize harm to a political party, they would wait until the nomination deadline had passed. That means there are probably some quotes and controversies with some candidates that have yet to emerge.

Social media has added a new dynamic to campaigns and candidate viability. It’s easier to research the background of candidates than it has ever been, and people’s words and actions are recorded and documented in every corner of the internet. Social media also provides a platform for cancel mobs to form and keep controversy alive for a candidate when it may have flared out after a few days, when only conventional media provided news. This risk applies to candidates with all parties, though some deal with it better than others.

The Conservatives have taken a strategy of greatly limiting their candidates’ media exposure. Candidates release only carefully written and vetted statements on social media, and they keep all interviews to a minimum if they are allowed any at all. This tactic reduces exposure to new controversies from candidates, but it also blunts the strengths of some of the contenders. Strong social influencers like Andrew Lawton, Aaron Gunn, Matt Strauss, and Jamil Jivani are among the Conservatives seeking seats. Those influencers have large audiences they could be reaching during the campaign, but have been blunted for fear they may take the party off-message.

Having candidates with extensive online histories also means having much more material out there that could cause problems for the party. Andrew Lawton and Jamil Jivani have thousands of hours of broadcasts under their belts. Statements could be pulled out of context and used against the party. Strauss and Gunn have thousands of social media postings, which again, may have statements among them that could be considered controversial.

Indeed, Gunn has been under fire for postings on X where he wouldn’t call residential schools a form of genocide and stated that some indigenous bands had asked for residential schools back in the 1800s. Politicos and indigenous activists are calling for his removal from the ballot. So far, Poilievre has resisted the pressure, and Gunn has issued a statement showing sympathy for former attendees of residential schools but hasn’t retracted his past statements. Removing Gunn from contention in the leadership race of the B.C. United Party didn’t work out well for Kevin Falcon. Poilievre is in a tough spot.

Having candidates with a public profile is an advantage in politics, but they will invariably come with baggage. It’s virtually impossible to find somebody without some sort of social media history. Political leaders must develop strategies to cope with the historical statements coming from their candidates.

Centralized communications mitigate risks but prevent candidates from effectively campaigning locally.

In the final weeks of the campaign, the Conservative Party must remain on-message. There likely will be more candidate controversies erupting. How they deal with those eruptions could make or break the campaign for them.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.