Pierre Poilievre versus Doug Ford? Insiders see a deepening rift between Canada's most prominent Conservative leaders

A hint of a triumphal smirk crept across Justin Trudeau's face as he launched a partisan salvo at his fiercest rival.

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada - no relation to the Progressive Conservatives of Ontario, sorry, that was a joke, you can chuckle - came out and said that this project was a waste of money," Trudeau said April 21 as he touted massive federal and provincial subsidies for the Volkswagen gigafactory" near London, Ont.

Just steps away, Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford chortled at the prime minister's quip, and returned the favour when he took the stage at the St. Thomas railway museum, noting who cares about the political stripes, this is about people."

But the cosy encounter did expose the schism between the federal and provincial Conservatives that's been exacerbated by Poilievre's election last year.

It's the realist versus the idealist; the pragmatist versus the ideologue.

Pierre's never been in business, he has no experience negotiating a deal so he doesn't understand that this is the way it works," noted one provincial Tory, who like some others interviewed for this story, spoke confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations.

The premier, a successful businessman who every day calls and texts dozens of people from all walks of life, has privately wondered why Poilievre is so right wing" and uncompromising on issues ranging from the pandemic response to economic development.

Right wing, federal Conservatives scoff, or an actual conservative?

Poilievre is beloved

Among the reasons Poilievre is so beloved by so many within the federal party is that he's seen as true to their roots; he comes directly from the Reform/Alliance wing of the party.

Both before, during and after his successful run for leadership, he's focused on the need to shrink government's involvement in people's lives, and indeed shrink the size of government overall. His current theme is around the need to remove so-called gatekeepers," who he argues stand in the way of economic prosperity for citizens.

Though socially progressive on matters such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights, he infuriated some centrist Tories during the leadership race for accusing rival Jean Charest - a former federal Progressive Conservative leader - of being a Liberal.

Some federal Conservatives say while Ford may lead a conservative" party, they view him as a political opportunist content to bask in the celebrity aura of the Trudeau Liberals without caring about the foundational political principles of their ideology.

Poilievre, they argue, would never do as Ford has done - boost program spending and run up massive budget deficits that eclipse those under his Liberal predecessor.

I long for the fiscal restraint of Kathleen Wynne," joked one top federal Conservative official, referring to the premier Ford defeated in 2018.

Despite such barbs, in some ways, the two parties have never been more closely tied.

Poilievre's chief of staff, Ian Todd, his deputy chief, John Sinclair, his director of media relations, Sebastian Skamski, and his most trusted adviser, Jenni Byrne, are all former Ford staffers.

Mike Crase, the executive director of the federal Tories, held that same post for the provincial party and was a key player in the premier's re-election last June. Michael Wilson, the federal party's lawyer, was chief of staff to Caroline Mulroney when she was attorney general.

VW deal questioned

When the Volkswagen deal was first announced, Poilievre drew the ire of his provincial counterparts by immediately questioning it on social media.

When the subsidies - as much as $13.2 billion in federal support plus at least $500 million in provincial funding- were revealed in St. Thomas, he fired off a letter to the Parliamentary Budget Officer demanding a detailed analysis.

But the fiscal argument runs up against a political one: the project will bring thousands of jobs to a province where the Conservatives have to make gains come the next election.

There's some overlap between LPC and PC voters that Poilievre needs to get in order to get the same number of seats (Conservative leader Stephen) Harper got in 2011 in Ontario," said Abacus Data CEO David Coletto.

Those seats were instrumental in Harper winning his only majority.

Poilievre has only tentatively put some ideas on the table for what a Conservative government under his watch would look like, seemingly following advice from Harper: focus on attacking the government, not on what you would do differently.

It also gives him more wiggle room than Ford has as a governing premier.

That Tories are in opposition federally but governing in Ontario also presents a conundrum.

There is a big difference between the mentality of government and the mentality of opposition," said longtime Conservative operative Melanie Paradis, who has worked with both the provincial and federal parties.

One places a priority on governing for the people and the other on proving their conservative bona fides."

Trudeau exploits the divide

Trudeau, no slouch when it comes to political opportunism, was happy to exploit the divide at the announcement broadcast live on cable news channels.

The prime minister - who showily introduced local Conservative MP Karen Vecchio and then shamed Poilievre for deriding the VW deal - nodded toward Ford.

I want to recognize again the partnership of Premier Ford. By working together we can deliver big things," said Trudeau, adding, Karen, you have your work cut out for you" to convince Poilievre to support such initiatives.

Ironically, the federal Liberals had successfully used Ford, who was unpopular at the time, as a foil to win the 2019 election.

Even so, the premier was personally offended when then-Conservative leader Andrew Scheer campaigned just 250 metres from his Etobicoke home with then-Alberta premier Jason Kenney.

Not only was Ford not invited to the event, his name was never mentioned from the podium.

Scheer subsequently led the party to defeat, and then quit as leader.

Less than a year later - at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that forged the close alliance between the Ford Tories and the Trudeau Liberals - the premier revelled in making federal Conservatives' heads explode.

Ford-Freeland love-in

The prime minister had just elevated Chrystia Freeland to finance minister, a move Ford strongly endorsed.

I absolutely love Chrystia Freeland. She's amazing. I'll have her back, I'll help her any way we can," the premier said in August 2020 of his closest friend in Trudeau's cabinet.

The alliance between a Tory premier and a Liberal prime minister does spark some internal tensions at Queen's Park.

In a PC caucus meeting earlier this year, several MPPs, who are also a federal Conservative supporters, wondered aloud why the Ontario Tories are so closely aligning themselves with Trudeau's Liberals.

People don't care about political stripes," MPPs were told by members of Ford's inner circle as they were presented with detailed polling research outlining how Ontarians want different levels of government to work together."

They want us working with the federal government and with municipalities to get things done for them and their communities," the Tories were assured by the premier's brain trust.

Ford draws complaints

Several Ontario Conservative MPs told the Star they get along quite well with their provincial counterparts at the riding level - both levels share donors and campaign teams.

But they complain that Ford's posturing undermines" their efforts to present a truly conservative vision of government to Canadians - and they argue that's something that predates Poilievre.

Among other things they point to the premier's public statement that he stood shoulder to shoulder" with Trudeau's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the so-called Freedom Convoy" protest last year in Ottawa.

That was at a time when the federal Tories were speaking out against the use of the law and expressing support for the protesters' demands to end vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions.

Ford imposed some of the longest pandemic lockdowns in Canada and required all PC MPPs and candidates to get vaccinated.

Marion Isabeau-Ringuette, who was the well-regarded director of communications to Ford's then-solicitor general Sylvia Jones, lost her job after it emerged she had donated $100 to the convoy protesters.

She now works as a press secretary for Poilievre.

Pandemic problems

Pandemic management was a sore spot between the two parties - Ford ejected two MPPs from his caucus for questioning his government's restrictions while then-federal Conservative leader Erin O'Toole struggled to wrangle the disparate views in his party.

That speaks to a reason the two parties sometimes seem to work at cross-purposes: Ford only governs Ontario Progressive Conservatives while the federal leader has to herd a much larger and more unwieldy group of people.

A national caucus brings much more diversity of perspective, and those blocks have a lot more weight," said Paradis.

Ford's Tories are content to bask in their June campaign slogan: get it done." For Poilievre, it's about figuring out how to do that.

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

Stephanie Levitz is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @StephanieLevitz