Budget week becomes caucus drama for the Conservatives

Budget week on Parliament Hill quickly became a stunning political drama after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lost two of his MPs in quick succession. One has crossed the floor to join the Liberals and the other says he’ll resign as an MP in the spring. 

How bad is this for the Official Opposition, and where does Poilievre go from here? Conservative strategist Kate Harrison and Liberal strategist Marci Surkes discuss the impact on Poilievre’s leadership, the mood in caucus and whether more departures could follow.

Plus, Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer responds to the caucus commotion and lays out his party’s criticism of the budget; and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne defends his government’s financial plan.

And: Business Council of Canada president Goldy Hyder joins Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers in a debate over whether this budget can spur investment and growth without making cost-of-living concerns worse; and Sahir Khan, co-founder and VP of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy helps tally up a budget scorecard on how the document has landed as a win or loss for Canadians.

This episode features the voices of:

• Kate Harrison, Conservative strategist and vice chair at Summa Strategies
• Marci Surkes, former senior advisor to Justin Trudeau and chief strategy officer at Compass Rose
• Sahir Khan, co-founder of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy
• François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance
• Andrew Scheer, Conservative House leader
• Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada
• Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers