Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is facing criticism from former Stephen Harper communications director Dimitri Soudas, who in a Toronto Star column on Friday accused him of “dismantling” the integrity and seriousness of the Conservatives.
In the piece, Soudas — who once served as Harper’s director of communications and later as the party’s executive director — contrasted Harper’s “principled and disciplined leadership” with what he called Poilievre’s “politics of spectacle and division”.
In a post to X, current Harper spokeswoman Anna Tomala made clear that Soudas is speaking for himself: “Mr. Soudas does not speak on behalf of Mr. Harper.”
Soudas’s critique has also reignited discussion about his own political trajectory and credibility. Once one of Harper’s trusted aides, Soudas was abruptly fired from his post as the party’s executive director in 2014 after allegations he interfered in a Conservative nomination race to benefit his then-partner, MP Eve Adams.
According to CTV News, it was Harper who ordered Soudas’ firing: “Harper instructed his chief of staff, Ray Novak, to fire Soudas over the weekend, insiders say.”
In a May 2014 interview with Global News, Soudas defended his actions, citing ‘loyalty’: “If there’s one good thing about me I’d say it’s loyalty. And my loyalty to [Adams] is eternal and I would do it all over again.”
Following his ousting, Adams was barred from running again for the Conservatives and defected to the Liberals in 2015 — with Soudas joining her. According to the Globe and Mail, Soudas personally helped to “broker” the floor crossing to the Liberals.
Source: Globe & Mail, Feb. 9, 2015
Soudas later confirmed to CBC News that he had purchased a Liberal Party membership to support Adams in her nomination contest against Marco Mendicino in Toronto’s Eglinton–Lawrence riding.
Adams went on to lose the Liberal nomination, with her time in Parliament ending with the August 2015 election call.
At the time, both Soudas and Adams were seen as high-profile recruits to the Liberal Party, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally welcoming Adams’ defection. Their move drew sharp criticism from Conservatives who accused Soudas of political opportunism.
Soudas’s column this week comes nearly a decade after his political falling out with the Conservatives.
Though now a commentator for state broadcaster CBC’s French network, his return to public political debate has been viewed negatively by Conservatives while aligning with Liberal messaging critical of Poilievre.
Soudas, who once described himself as a “Harper loyalist,” has since said he regrets the divisiveness that defined his final years in Conservative politics.
