Pierre Poilievre’s new governing council stacked with corporate lobbyists

Feb. 4, 2026

Lobbyists and anti-abortion activists on influential body are a contrast to Conservative Party’s public messaging

While Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre promised to fight for Canada’s “common people” at a national convention this past weekend in Calgary, his party elected a governing council full of lobbyists working for some of the country’s most powerful corporations.

Half of his new 20-person council—an influential body that oversees the party’s internal affairs, including nominations and election readiness—are recent or current corporate lobbyists, a Breach analysis of lobby registry records reveals.

That didn’t stop Conservative MP Aaron Gunn from describing the Conservatives as the “party of Canadian workers.”

“We’re the party of tradespeople, of resource workers and of those laying the groundwork for the future of Canada’s prosperity and success,” he said in a convention speech.

But if the composition of the governing council is any indication, the Conservatives look more like the party of CEOs, resource corporations, and those paving the way for profit-hoarding and exploding inequality.

Members of the council have lobbied for oil, gas, and mining companies, Big Tech, telecommunications giants, pharmaceutical associations, and the financial sector.

Several of the re-elected members continued to lobby the federal government during their previous three-year stint on the council, while enjoying proximity to Pierre Poilievre.

The Conservative Party leader is an automatic member of the national council and is expected to attend their meetings, but delegated his closest confidante and former campaign manager Jenni Byrne to represent him. 

Byrne is herself the head of a lobbying firm that has represented corporations like Loblaw and a real estate developer.

Several newly-elected council members are also aligned with the anti-abortion Christian fundamentalist movement. 

It’s a reminder that while Poilievre has worked hard to rebrand the Conservatives as anti-elite champions of the working class, the party’s internal machinery remains deeply enmeshed with Canada’s corporate class as well as organized social conservatism.

A revolving door of corporate lobbyists

Among the newly elected and returning council members are numerous figures with deep ties to corporate Canada.

Several council members are linked to Capital Hill Group, a major Ottawa lobbying firm that has represented clients ranging from X Corp. (formerly Twitter) to a European weapons company. Aaron Scheewe is now a managing director at the firm. Wes McLean, another company consultant, continues to lobby federally and provincially after a stint as a New Brunswick MLA (he was stripped of duties following impaired driving charge in 2013).

Matthew Conway previously worked at Maple Leaf Strategies, a lobbying firm that has represented clients including Enbridge, major mining and banking interests, and Facebook. According to federal records, Conway himself lobbied on behalf of weapons manufacturer General Dynamics as recently as 2024.

Anthony Matar, a consultant at Crestview Strategy, has lobbied for extractive companies, as well as McDonald’s.

Others bring similarly close ties to the energy sector. Heather Feldbusch is a former lobbyist for the Canadian Gas Association and is associated with Alberta Counsel, a firm that represents oil companies and real estate developers. 

Amber Ruddy, a vice-president at Counsel Public Affairs, continues to lobby for Telus as well as oil and gas companies, and her clients include the leading tech and pharmaceutical lobby groups.

Anti-abortion activists increase influence

Alongside corporate lobbyists, a second bloc became more visible after Calgary’s convention: socially conservative activists, particularly those aligned with the Christian fundamentalist anti-abortion movement.

New council members include Colette Stang, a former president of the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association who has supported legislation mandating parental involvement when minors seek abortions.

Stang has also been endorsed by RightNow, an anti-abortion organization that has advocated for its supporters to “ensure that pro-lifers sit on National Councils” because of their “incredible influence over the party functionality.”

Kinsey Schurm and Dheeraj Jha both received endorsements from Campaign Life Coalition president Jack Fonseca in advance of the convention. 

Christina Mitas, a former Ontario MPP and now principal at lobby firm Petrichor Strategy, has participated in pro-life rallies and maintains active lobbying ties in Ontario.

While these activists were elected to the national council, other efforts of the anti-abortion wing of the Conservative Party failed at convention.

A resolution to reverse a commitment in their policy book that the party “will not support any legislation to regulate abortion” did not make it to the floor in Calgary. 

During the 2025 election, Poilievre had affirmed this position, pledging that a Conservative government would not introduce “laws or other restrictions” that impact “a woman’s right to decide to do with her body as she wishes.”

At its last convention in 2023 in Quebec city, Conservative members had organized around a grassroots resolution that would have barred lobbyists from serving on the council. It failed to pass, and no such resolution was put forward this time.