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How a little-known B.C. Conservative built up a backroom dream team
OTTAWA — Caroline Elliott has never run for office, or even put her name on a ballot, but she arguably became the early favourite in the British Columbia Conservative Party leadership race before even officially jumping into the fray.
Kory Teneycke, a onetime spokesman for former prime minister Stephen Harper and current ally of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, got the ball rolling on Monday when he revealed on a podcast that he’d soon be B.C. bound to manage Elliott’s campaign.
“I’m going to throw a ‘hey you’ out to all the people of British Columbia, I’m going to be moving out to your fair province … to go back to the campaign management business,” said Teneycke in a clip that launched a thousand hot takes .
Teneycke’s podcast bombshell blew open the floodgates, with a host of well-known conservative operatives announcing in the following hours that they’d also be joining the campaign.
By the time Elliott put out a terse statement reading “I’m in” on Tuesday, a large team of backroom talent had formed around her.
Some of the big names include digital guru Jeff Ballingall, Nick Kouvalis, a former advisor to Toronto mayors Rob Ford and John Tory and Anthony Koch, formerly a spokesman for both federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and ex-B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad.
National Post has also learned that Howard Anglin, former senior advisor to both Harper and ex-Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, will also be joining the campaign. As will conservative pollster Brooke Pigott , who’s worked for both Harper and Poilievre.
Koch said that, while Elliott is far from a “household name,” her outsized political appeal comes down to a rare mix of intangibles that those in the know have seen in her.
“I think (Elliott) touches on three key things: she’s very smart, eminently electable and a real conservative. That’s a very rare combination for conservative leaderships aspirants,” said Koch. “Usually, the best you can hope for is two out of three.”
Koch added that Elliott has steadily built a name in conservative circles for her bold commentary on hot-button issues like Indigenous reconciliation, with her byline regularly appearing in the National Post and other right-leaning outlets.
Elliott is a co-founder of new-right blog Without Diminishment but will be taking a hiatus from the publication while she runs for B.C. Conservative leader.
Margareta Dovgal, a regular contributor to Without Diminishment, says that Elliott’s approachable political style and extensive formal education in Indigenous relations make her ideally suited to navigate the political minefield of reconciliation.
“I think we’re already seeing Caroline (Elliott) move forward the conversation on reconciliation, because she’s been approaching it in such a thoughtful, fact-based way. Not everyone agrees with her, but even those who don’t can see she’s a serious person,” said Dovgal.
Elliott, who holds a PhD in aboriginal self-government and liberal democracy, is an avowed critic of what she calls “divisive” policies separating Indigenous and non-Indigenous British Columbians, such as closures of some B.C. parks to the latter.
She’s also criticized government lawyers for “ pulling punches ” in the recent Cowichan decision extending Aboriginal title to tracts of private property near Vancouver, arguing that they knowingly failed to marshal the strongest possible arguments in court.
Koch said that the Cowichan decision and other recent developments surrounding Indigenous relations in B.C. have marked a turning point making reconciliation a mainstream political issue.
“I think (reconciliation) is an issue that’s top of mind for British Columbians and also people across the country right now,” said Koch. “And I think most honest observers will see that she has a very nuanced and appropriate position on this that speaks directly to the concerns of people who are very worried about losing the most valuable asset that they own, which is their property.”
Koch added that Elliott wouldn’t “just be talking about reconciliation,” noting that she’s well-positioned to discuss the province’s soaring cost of living as a mother of two young children who lives in the Greater Vancouver area.
Brad Zubyk, a conservative strategist and former chief of staff to Rustad, said that the star power coalescing around Elliott doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll run away with the leadership race, stressing that she’ll need to build a network inside B.C.
“This is a leadership race and, at the end of the day, leadership races are about selling party memberships,” said Zubyk.
Zubyk said the high-profile Teneycke’s association with the campaign could be a double-edged sword, noting that he took attention away from Elliott right from the get-go by scooping her campaign announcement.
“The podcast stunt was one-hundred percent planned in advance,” said Zubyk.
Teneycke is a polarizing figure among grassroots conservatives after publicly, and repeatedly, criticizing the Conservative campaign during last spring’s federal election.
Koch says that while he “doesn’t share” Teneycke’s opinions on the federal Conservatives, the very fact that the two are working together — alongside an assortment of conservative talent from various parts of the coalition — reflects the breadth of Elliott’s appeal.
He noted that there are a good number of Poilievre alumni on the team, such as himself, Ballingall, Pigott and former federal Conservative candidate Mauro Francis.
“At the end of the day, you want to win and you want to assemble the best collection of talents that can actualize that,” said Koch.
The timeline for the leadership race and date of the leadership vote have not yet been announced. Other declared and rumoured contenders include former provincial cabinet minister Iain Black, businessman Yuri Fulmer and B.C. Conservative MLAs Sheldon Clare, Peter Milobar and Harman Bhangu.
National Post
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