Can Pierre Poilievre stop the bleeding?
4/13/202627 min
After a fourth Conservative MP crossed over last week, the Liberals are now only one seat shy of an official majority. And with two out of three byelections taking place today in safe Liberal ridings, it’s widely expected that Mark Carney and the Liberals will get their majority government after the results come in.
Tonda MacCharles is the Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau chief. She’s here to talk about the challenges facing Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whether he can keep his caucus in line, and if there’s a case for pushing him out now.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJayme Poisson· Host0:00
Looking for stories about Indigenous peoples from across the country?
Pierre Poilievre· Soundbite0:03
We know where you can find them.
Brett Forester· Soundbite0:05
[instrumental music] Hi, my name is Brett Forester, and I'm from the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.
Jayme Poisson· Host0:14
Then as Hosi, my name is Etsu Tu Lavrin, and I'm Tahltan Nation and Taku River Tlingit First Nations.
Pierre Poilievre· Soundbite0:19
Creative, engaging, informative.
Jayme Poisson· Host0:22
CBC Indigenous, grounded in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.
Speaker 20:27
Visit cbc.ca/indigenous. [news music] This is a CBC podcast.
Jayme Poisson· Host0:33
[upbeat music] Hey, everybody. It's Jamie. It's widely expected that by the end of the day today, Monday, Mark Carney and the Liberals will get their majority government. Three by-elections are taking place, two of them in safe Liberal ridings in Toronto and one in Terrebonne, Quebec, which is expected to be a tight race with the Bloc Québécois. The Liberals are already at 171 seats after another Conservative MP, the fourth since last fall, crossed over last week. They are just one seat shy of the official majority. Being at the helm of the Conservative Party while your opponent gets a majority that was sealed by your own MPs crossing the floor, well, this is an enormous blow for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, and it comes amidst a lot of drama inside the Conservative Party. There's the floor-crossing, of course, but the Toronto Star's been reporting that up to