The Conservative caucus will meet on Tuesday to mull over the party’s election defeat and consider the question of who should be the interim Opposition Leader to replace Pierre Poilievre, amid concern that the Liberals are trying to poach some Tory MPs.

Mr. Poilievre did not win his seat in the April 28 election, meaning he cannot be the Opposition Leader, the party’s official voice in the House of Commons. However, he remains Conservative Party Leader, which still allows him substantial input into party affairs.

In his concession speech earlier this week, Mr. Poilievre said he would not step down from his post atop the party. Although he can’t immediately be removed from his job, his caucus and party membership will have opportunities in coming months to force the issue.

Front-runners for the job of Opposition Leader are former leader Andrew Scheer and deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman, according to a caucus source.

For Mr. Poilievre to return to Parliament, he would have to win a seat in a by-election.

Amid the jockeying to replace Mr. Poilievre, the source said the party is concerned that Liberal insiders are working behind the scenes to entice disgruntled Conservative MPs to join the government.

Poilievre’s access to official residence in question after loss of seat

A Liberal Party insider did not deny that efforts are being made to woo Conservative and NDP MPs, in an attempt to put the newly formed government over the 172-seat count required to form a majority.

The Globe and Mail is not naming the Conservative and Liberal sources because they were not authorized to discuss internal party matters.

On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to hold his first news conference since the election.

The Liberals’ seat count dropped on Thursday from 169 to 168 − four short of a majority government − after a validation process that flipped the election result in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne from the Liberals to the Bloc Québécois. The Conservatives won 144 seats, the Bloc has 23, the NDP seven and the Green Party one.

Cheryl Gallant, the most senior Conservative in the caucus, called for Tuesday’s meeting to allow MPs to decide whether to adopt the Reform Act, a piece of legislation that gives each party’s caucus more say in how they are governed. Each party has to decide anew after each election whether to adopt the act.

It includes the ability to elect an interim leader if one dies, resigns or is incapacitated.

The Reform Act also allows for a leadership review to either endorse or replace a leader of the party. All that is required for a review is the signatures of 20 per cent of the caucus.

The vote on a leadership review is held by secret ballot, the same process that led to the ouster of former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole after he lost the 2021 election to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

After the vote in 2021, caucus appointed an interim leader, held a leadership convention and replaced Mr. O’Toole with Mr. Poilievre.

Mr. Poilievre faces a mandatory party leadership review at the next convention, which the Conservative source said Mr. Poilievre may try to hold in the summer to avoid anyone organizing against him.

Ontario Conservative MP Jamil Jivani told CBC’s Power and Politics Thursday that he believes Mr. Poilievre should stay on as leader.

“Pierre Poilievre has earned the right to continue leading this party and I think the support from caucus is quite visible,” he said. “People believe he can continue to grow this party.”

He sidestepped questions about whether Mr. Poilievre should jettison campaign manager Jenni Byrne, who is being blamed by party insiders for burning bridges with key conservative allies and also for not focusing the party’s election campaign more on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade and annexation threats. “This is a decision Pierre will have to make,” he said.

Numerous high-profile Conservatives − including Mr. Scheer − have also said they believe Mr. Poilievre should remain. However, others are saying behind the scenes that Mr. Poilievre and his inner circle must show that they’ve learned from the loss and are prepared to make changes before his leadership is secure.

Though he gave a speech after his party’s loss early Tuesday morning, Mr. Poilievre has not commented on losing his Ottawa-area riding.

It also remains unclear whether Mr. Poilievre is still entitled to live in Stornoway, a 19-room home in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood that has been provided to opposition leaders since 1950, and where he began living with his family after he won the party’s leadership in 2022.

The crux of the issue is the Official Residences Act, a piece of federal legislation that governs Stornoway and other official properties, including the prime minister’s residence. The act notes that Stornoway is to be provided for the person holding the position of “Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.”

Political scientist Philippe Lagassé, whose current research examines executive power and legislative-executive relations in Westminster states, said Mr. Poilievre may end up staying in the residence if a by-election is quickly called in a riding where voters consistently vote for Conservatives.

With a report from Ian Bailey