As ambassadors seek answers from Poilievre, Tory caucus offers foreign policy hints

Ambassadors around Ottawa are looking for clues to decipher the Conservative Party's foreign policy, as leader Pierre Poilievre offers few hints of how he'd approach the world stage as prime minister.

Ambassadors around Ottawa are looking for clues to decipher the Conservative Party's foreign policy, as leader Pierre Poilievre offers few hints of how he'd approach the world stage as prime minister.

In Ottawa, diplomats at several embassies describe feeling uncertain about whether Conservatives would stick to global climate commitments and continue staunchly supporting Ukraine.

They would only speak about the matter if they were not directly identified, citing the risk of compromising diplomatic relations.

Poilievre "is trying to establish his domestic economic narrative, and leaving heavy lifting on the foreign-policy side to others," said Garry Keller, vice-president of lobby firm StrategyCorp.

Keller, who was chief of staff to former Conservative foreign minister John Baird, said it's common for embassies to seek out party leaders of all stripes, and for opposition leaders to be harder to reach until an election is imminent.

Canadians don't tend to vote for foreign-policy issues, he noted, saying Poilievre is focused on issues Canadians rank as top of mind in polling, such as housing and health care.

But Chris Alexander, an immigration minister under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, argued Poilievre could be more forthcoming, given the impact of global forces like conflict and climate change.