Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has not invited journalists to travel with him on his campaign, breaking tradition with long practice.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s team has decided that journalists will not be invited to travel on his campaign plane, marking a break from a long-standing practice.
Historically, political parties charge media organizations a fee for a seat on the campaign plane, allowing them to cover all of the leader’s events.
The start date of the next election has not yet been announced, but it is widely expected to begin within the next few days.
Both the Liberal Party and the NDP have sent invitations to media organizations offering the traditional arrangements of places on the leader’s campaign plane or buses for a fee to cover costs.
Jenni Byrne, the Conservative Party’s national campaign director, sent an update to media organizations Tuesday afternoon informing them there will be no media contingent on a Conservative bus or plane, “though we welcome and encourage participation at all public events.”
Ms. Byrne said in the memo that travel costs have risen at the same time as the capacity for digital and remote access to public events has improved. She also pointed out that in recent years, some national media outlets opted to cover campaigns from their closest bureau rather than participating in the leader’s tour.
“We would like to assure you that this campaign will be one of the most accessible and transparent campaigns in recent memory. We have taken multiple steps to ensure that Canadian media will be able to share any public events, participate in events on the ground, and ask questions remotely and in-person,” she wrote.
Ms. Byrne said organizations will be given advance notice of event locations and full conferencing services, “where an equitable balance at all press conferences between local and national media will be ensured.”
The campaign says it will also offer a professional-grade video feed for broadcasters.
In the 2021 federal election campaign, then-Conservative leader Erin O’Toole did not travel constantly, opting instead to spend a considerable amount of time holding events in an Ottawa studio. However, he had said the studio option was partly about being ready to respond to evolving restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There has been a move away from campaign buses or planes for media at the provincial level. During this year’s Ontario election, none of the major parties offered a full media campaign bus or plane.
Carleton University journalism professor emeritus Christopher Waddell, a former Ottawa bureau chief for both CBC News and The Globe and Mail, said he’s not surprised by the announcement. He said there are fewer media organizations that can afford seats on campaign tours.
Prof. Waddell said the downside for the media is that they may not know about all of the leader’s events. He also said the Conservatives’ plan would make it easier for the party to decide who asks questions.
“There’s no question that if you do this, it gives the party doing it more control,” he said.