OTTAWA — Robert Colvile, director of the influential Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, highlighted striking parallels between the Canadian and British Conservative parties when introducing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at the annual Margaret Thatcher lecture in London last month.
Poilievre’s U.K. Visit Sparks Advice Requests
“We did not just ask Pierre to deliver this lecture purely because… everyone in Britain has started paying a lot more attention to Canadian politics recently, and in particular, to the way in which an insurgent populist right-wing party called ‘Reform’ rose up to challenge the establishment Conservative party in the wake of landslide election defeat,” Colvile told roughly 100 attendees in early March.
Canadian Conservative MPs report frequent questions from U.K. counterparts about how Stephen Harper united the right in 2003, ending over a decade of division. During Poilievre’s three-day U.K. trip, where he met Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her caucus, similar inquiries arose.
Poilievre acknowledges the interest but avoids direct advice. “We didn’t talk about it a lot. I wanted to make clear that the situation in Canada and the United Kingdom could be vastly different. So, I just don’t think I’m in the position to advise them on how they move forward in that,” he stated.
Historical Parallels Between Canada and U.K.
The resemblance mirrors Canada’s pre-2003 split between the Reform Party and Progressive Conservatives, which contributed to the PCs’ historic 1993 defeat. Reform, founded by Preston Manning in 1987, challenged the establishment right for 16 years.
In the U.K., Nigel Farage co-founded Reform UK in 2018 (initially the Brexit Party) amid frustration with the Conservatives over EU membership. Reform outflanked Tories on issues like COVID lockdowns, spending, taxes, and immigration.
The 2024 general election delivered a crushing blow to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, who plummeted from 365 seats to 121—their worst defeat ever. Keir Starmer’s Labour formed government, while Reform secured 14.3% of the vote and five seats, a record for the party.
Recent polls show Reform leading nationally, with Tories battling Labour and Greens for second place.
Lessons from the Past and Future Hopes
“As it became increasingly clear that the (U.K.) Conservatives who were heading for an absolute thumping (in 2024), Canada did become the sort of touchstone,” Colvile noted. “In political circles, it had become the sort of the benchmark for the absolute humiliation of a traditional centre-right governing party.”
Farage draws inspiration from Canada, inviting Manning to Reform UK’s October conference. “Nigel, I carried the torch for Reform in Canada, I now hand that torch over to you and wish you and your people every success,” Manning replied.
U.K. Conservatives aim to reunite faster than their Canadian counterparts, avoiding a prolonged wilderness period. Tim Bale, politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, sees geographical synergies but doubts an imminent merger.
“A merger between two parties can make sense if each partner is electorally strong in parts of the country where the other is weak. That was very much the case in Canada, and is—albeit to a lesser extent—true in Britain right now,” Bale explained. However, egos pose barriers: “who absorbs who?”
Conservative MP Andrew Bowie dismisses merger talk. “No, I don’t think we need to. I think that we are united in the right within the Conservative Party. If people want to stand behind a leader that will unite the right in the UK, they need to vote for Kemi Badenoch to be the next prime minister of the UK,” he said.
