Conservatives criticized over appointment of candidate to run in Ontario byelection

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is facing criticism from within his own party after choosing to appoint a candidate to run in an upcoming byelection in southern Ontario, instead of holding a nomination contest.

Poilievre announced at a rally on Sunday the party picked outgoing Brantford, Ont., mayor Kevin Davis to carry the Tory banner in the byelection. The news prompted the two former members of Parliament for the area to walk away from the event stage.

The seat in Brantford-Brant South became vacant on Friday, when Larry Brock stepped down to return to his former role as a Crown prosecutor.

On Saturday, Brock appeared in a social media video with Dave Carrol, the man he said he wanted to “hand over the baton to” as the Conservative candidate.

Carrol, a local pastor and longtime member of the Conservative party, shared the video, in which Brock said Carrol was “well poised to take over” and credited him with helping win the riding in 2021 and 2025.

A day later, Poilievre surprised many — including Carrol — when he announced Davis’s name will be on the ballot.

“We need someone who can fight for Brantford-Brant South the way that Larry Brock has for the last five years,” Poilievre said at the rally in Brantford.

“We need someone who will fight for Canada and fight for you, who will fight to save you money, save your job, keep you safe, fix immigration and put Canada first. And that person is your mayor, Kevin Davis.”

Brock, who was seated behind Poilievre at the event, left his seat seconds after the announcement was made. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment. MP Ned Kuruc posted on social media that Brock did not leave the event altogether.

Phil McColeman, who represented the seat for the Conservatives for 13 years before Brock, also stood up and walked out. He told the Brantford Expositor he was upset about the decision not to hold an open nomination.

A byelection has not yet been called in Brantford-Brant South. It must be called within six months of the seat becoming vacant.

A spokesperson for the Conservative party said Poilievre exercised his authority to choose Davis “to ensure a candidate was in place and ready to hit the ground running.”

“Kevin Davis was overwhelmingly endorsed by local grassroots Conservatives at the rally (Sunday), including the riding association president Caine Chapman, Larry Brock’s former campaign manager Phil Gillies, nomination opponent Josh Wall, and two candidates for mayor,” said Sarah Fischer in a statement.

Davis did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Poilievre did not respond to a request for a comment either. His spokesperson said the statement from the party stands.

Carrol said he had been working for six weeks to secure the nomination and had the support of both Brock and McColeman.

“I wish Kevin Davis well, but I would be less than honest if I said I wasn’t deeply disappointed,” he posted on social media on Sunday.

Carrol said the party’s grassroots tradition is what drew him to the Conservatives, and noted that he has been active in fundraising, door-knocking and supporting local candidates.

“I think an open nomination process is a good thing. It tests the candidates to prove they have the support of party members and the community,” he wrote.

As party leader, Poilievre has the power to appoint candidates in up to eight ridings between elections.

That rule was changed by the party’s national council following a review of the April 2025 election, during which nomination contests became a widespread issue for the Conservatives.

Longtime B.C. provincial minister Michael de Jong wanted to run for the Tories in Abbotsford-South Langley, and secured a recommendation from the local riding association, but a party official told him via email that he was not qualified to enter the nomination.

De Jong told The Canadian Press in June 2025 that he was unhappy with the centralization of control over the candidate selection process, and that he wasn’t alone.

Other would-be candidates echoed concerns that local electoral district associations were overruled by national party officials close to Poilievre.

In 2023, former Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie decided to support a Liberal candidate in a byelection in his former Ontario seat of Oxford, citing meddling in the nomination process.

At the time, the Globe and Mail reported that Poilievre and former leader Andrew Scheer both supported the nomination campaign for Arpan Khanna, who is now the MP for Oxford, and two members of the local electoral district association quit their posts.

Delegates at the Conservative national convention last January also debated changes intended to return power over nominations to the grassroots.

Members voted for a change to the party’s constitution that states the national candidate selection committee is only allowed to override local riding decisions in exceptional circumstances.

When he spoke to delegates at the convention in Calgary, Poilievre said the party learned from the 2025 election loss that it needed to hold open nominations in local ridings sooner. He called riding associations “the backbone of our organization.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press