Last week, conservatives from across the country gathered in Ottawa for the annual Canada Strong and Free Network Spring conference. The theme of this year’s conference was “from ideas to action”, focused on not just discussing policies, but real changes and how to implement bold ideas. Listening to speakers from Bari Weiss to Premier Smith, and panels on a wide range of topics including criminal justice reform, housing and labour, and on defense, including on how Canada can be a better ally.

This was the setting for what has now come to be known as “Buttongate”, an attempt by Liberal operatives to plant “Trump-style” buttons around the conference, including with “lock Justin up”, “make Canada great again”, and “a vote for Carney is a vote for Wexit”, to try and paint the attendees, and the conservative movement in general in a bad light.

At first glance, “Buttongate” may seem like an absurd political footnote—a stunt meant to stir up some harmless controversy, and frankly that is the way that Carney and the Liberals have treated it. But beneath the surface, it was anything but innocent.

The act of distributing these misleading buttons to unsuspecting attendees wasn’t just a prank. It was a premeditated campaign of manipulation designed to discredit the Conservative movement. From the mere fact that they paid to attend the conference, it is shown that this wasn’t done by rogue staffers, it was coordinated from the central campaign.

These weren’t just buttons with off-colour jokes or edgy political satire, they were handed to attendees to try to sow divisions in the movement, or to create the impression that we are all radicals with extreme views, with the goal of having the media pick that up and run with the narrative. Some buttons bore provocative slogans that misrepresented personal views, while others echoed extremist talking points with just enough ambiguity to attempt to cause reputational damage. The goal? Manufacture viral outrage, stoke division, and paint legitimate conference-goers as fringe radicals.

This tactic wasn’t merely juvenile or tasteless — it was strategic. In an age where optics move faster than facts, a single photo of someone unknowingly wearing one of these buttons, circulating on social media with no context, is enough to mislead the public about the conference’s tone and purpose.

The Canada Strong and Free Network is a space for conservative thinkers, policy advocates, and public leaders to gather, debate, and engage on serious issues. Turning it into a playground for political sabotage undermines the very idea of free, open political dialogue. It fosters paranoia and distrust, creating a toxic environment that is incompatible with the genuine exchange of ideas.

Moreover, Buttongate reflects a growing trend in modern political activism: weaponizing irony and humor as a smokescreen for malice. Those behind the stunt can brush off criticism with a wink and a shrug— “It was just a joke!”—even as they attempt to cause real harm. It’s a tactic designed to evade accountability while maximizing disruption. And when such behavior is normalized, it discourages participation in political discourse altogether.

At its core, Buttongate wasn’t just about embarrassing a few attendees. It was about shifting the narrative. It was an attempt, that thankfully failed, to define the conference not by its panels, speakers, or policy discussions, but by a sensational distraction, and to create a false portrait of the conservative movement — one rooted in caricature and controversy, rather than nuance and debate. If conferences become battlegrounds for subversive manipulation rather than forums for discussion, the integrity of democratic engagement suffers. This was not harmless mischief — it was calculated, cynical, and undeniably nefarious.

Elections are serious and deserve to be treated that way, especially at a time when people are struggling to put food on their tables and afford a home. To many across the country, the issues we are facing and the conversations we are having, are ones which have real consequences on their lives. The very fact that they then went on to brag about it at a pub in Ottawa, known to be a place where there is likely going to be someone listening in showed a level of pretentiousness that exemplifies disdain for Canadians.

Throughout this campaign, Liberals have been trying to paint themselves as the adults in the room, but what they’ve shown again is a level of arrogance we learned to expect under Trudeau, one which puts their agenda ahead of what is best for this country.

Ariella Kimmel is the president of Winston Wilmont. Ariella has worked for a number of conservative governments, including in the Stephen Harper government, as a chief of staff in Alberta and most recently for Monte McNaughton while he served as minister of labour and immigration. 

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