Behind Closed Doors: Corporate Lobbyists Are Betting on Poilievre

Key takeaways:

• Pierre Poilievre has attended over 100 private fundraisers with corporate lobbyists since 2022. These events were often held at elite clubs or expensive homes, with ticket prices reaching up to $1,700.

  
  

• Many of the attendees represent powerful industries like oil, telecom, banking, and real estate. Their presence raises questions about who Poilievre is really listening to as he runs for Prime Minister.

  
  

• While Poilievre criticizes lobbyists in public, he meets with them behind closed doors. His actions mirror the same “cash-for-access” politics he once attacked the Liberals for using.

  
  

Pierre Poilievre says he wants to stand up for working people. But since becoming leader of the Conservative Party, he’s also been meeting a lot of corporate lobbyists—behind closed doors, and often at exclusive, high-priced fundraisers.

According to reporting by The Breach, more than 100 current or recent lobbyists have attended Conservative “cash-for-access” events with Poilievre since 2022. These aren’t public town halls or meet-and-greets. They’re private fundraising events, often hosted at elite clubs or multimillion-dollar homes. The cost of entry? A political donation, usually over $200, and in some cases up to the legal limit of $1,700.

The events stretch across the country—from Banff to Toronto to Montreal. Attendees include lobbyists for oil companies like Enbridge and Suncor, telecom giants, banks, retailers, and major real estate firms. In one case, Poilievre attended a fundraiser in Banff with executives linked to five major oil and gas companies.

To be clear, all of this is legal (but that doesn't mean it's right).

Since 2019, political parties have had to report the names of fundraiser attendees when the ticket price is above $200 and a leader or cabinet minister is present. But that transparency also reveals who’s gaining access—and who isn’t.

Poilievre has made headlines with speeches attacking corporate lobbyists. In early March, he told the Vancouver Board of Trade that lobbyists in Ottawa are “utterly useless” and won’t be writing policy under a Conservative government. He said his priority is what’s good for working people, not for executives dining at private clubs.

But The Breach found that many of those same lobbyists have been meeting him—not at the Rideau Club in Ottawa, but at private dinners and receptions in places like the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton or the Toronto Club, where memberships can run as high as $20,000.

This is a pattern we’ve seen before. When the Liberals were caught doing similar fundraisers, Poilievre criticized them for selling access to the “super-rich.” The Liberals later brought in the current disclosure rules.

It’s no surprise that lobbyists want face time with a leader who could become Prime Minister. And many of those attending Conservative events represent the same sectors that traditionally support the party: oil and gas, mining, retail, and construction. Their goal is simple—make connections now, and hope for influence later.