FLASHBACK — Remember STEPHEN HARPER’s famously hostile relationship with the Ottawa press gallery ? PIERRE POILIEVRE may give him a run for his money. On Tuesday, Poilievre spoke to the media for the first time since winning the Conservative leadership. Except before he could actually speak, he was confronted by DAVID AKIN, chief political correspondent for Global News. Akin interrupted Poilievre repeatedly, demanding to know if he would take questions. Poilievre eventually stopped short, calling Akin a “Liberal heckler” and saying he’d “never seen [him] heckling the prime minister.” Within the hour, Poilievre’s team was making hay with the interaction on Twitter. — Some context: Yes, it’s unusual for press gallery reporters to interrupt politicians while they’re making statements. Usually we wait for them to finish their remarks, and then all bets are off. But in this case, Poilievre’s press secretary had told reporters before he emerged that the new leader wouldn’t be taking any questions. In fact, Poilievre had yet to answer any questions from the press gallery since his win on Saturday. And for the most part, he refused interviews throughout his leadership campaign. Which is also unusual, unless your name is Stephen Harper. — In the end: Poilievre took two (2) questions, which cost him approximately two minutes. In exchange, he got a clip of being “heckled” by a reporter. And in his books, we’re guessing that’s priceless. THAT WAS FAST — In other news, Poilievre isn’t wasting any time. He unveiled his leadership team (or, rather, his “inflation-busting Leadership Team” ) Tuesday morning, eschewing the traditional press release in favor of a photo of the group on the steps of West Block, posted to social media. Here’s who’s who: MELISSA LANTSMAN, deputy leader: A rising star in the Conservative caucus, Lantsman was elected in 2021 in the Ontario riding of Thornhill, formerly occupied by PETER KENT . As transport critic, she’s been leading the charge on airport delays and the ArriveCAN app. TIM UPPAL, deputy leader: A co-chair of Poilievre’s leadership campaign, Uppal was a Cabinet minister in the Harper years. He lost to Liberal AMARJEET SOHI (now mayor of Edmonton) in 2015, but defeated him in 2019. This is the first time the modern Conservative party will have two deputy leaders. ANDREW SCHEER, House leader: The former Conservative leader endorsed Poilievre early in the race. They are friends, and were both elected for the first time in 2004, as the two youngest MPs in the House of Commons — Poilievre is the younger of the two, by 14 days. Scheer served as Speaker from 2011 to 2015. PIERRE PAUL-HUS , Quebec lieutenant: Paul-Hus is the only one of the Conservatives’ 10 Quebec MPs who endorsed Poilievre. Most of them publicly backed rival JEAN CHAREST, who ended up winning just six ridings in the province. KERRY-LYNNE FINDLAY, whip: The former Cabinet minister was an early supporter of Poilievre, and served as his campaign co-chair in British Columbia. CHRIS WARKENTIN, deputy whip and QP coordinator: Warkentin was among Poilievre’s early endorsers, and was formerly a close supporter of Scheer’s. He served as deputy house leader from 2016 to 2019. LUC BERTHOLD, deputy house leader: Earlier this year, former interim leader CANDICE BERGEN named Berthold her deputy and Quebec lieutenant. He stayed neutral in the leadership race. ERIC DUNCAN, caucus-party liaison: Duncan was also a member of former leader ERIN O’TOOLE’s leadership team. He was the party’s first openly gay MP. JAKE STEWART, caucus committee coordinator: Formerly a minister in New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservative government, Stewart chaired Poilievre’s campaign in the province. — Related: The Hill Times’ ABBAS RANA and, later, Global News’ ALEX BOUTILIER and MERCEDES STEPHENSON have both reported that ROBERT STALEY will replace JAMES DODDS as chair of the Conservative Fund. THAT WAS (ALSO) FAST — The Conservative caucus is down one MP thanks to Poilievre’s win. On Tuesday, ALAIN RAYES announced he will sit as an Independent, saying in a statement that he’s a “proud Progressive Conservative,” and some of his “political ideals, values and convictions are not compatible with the new path” the Conservatives are taking. What are those incompatible values? In a video , the Quebec MP spoke about respect for law and order and for democratic institutions (insert montage here of Poilievre supporting the “Freedom Convoy” and trashing the Bank of Canada), climate change, the economy and respectful dialogue between politicians. — The background: Rayes was among Charest’s staunchest supporters in caucus. The question now is whether other MPs will follow suit. Most of the Quebec caucus endorsed Charest, but Poilievre won all but six ridings in the province, including Rayes’. If Rayes is hoping for company, the outlook so far isn’t great. Some of Charest’s other Quebec supporters have already taken a much more conciliatory tone. On Monday, GÉRARD DELTELL told reporters Poilievre is “the leader of every Conservative member in this party.” And JOËL GODIN, who had previously threatened to leave the party if Poilievre didn’t pivot to the center, has let it be known he’s actually a “team player.” — Related: TASHA KHEIRIDDIN, Charest’s campaign co-chair, penned an op-ed Tuesday in the National Post that was neither an endorsement nor an indictment of the new Conservative leader. Rather, she had this advice for Trudeau: “Poilievre’s team is vicious. Take early retirement, if you want to keep your sanity.” STEPHANIE LEVITZ was on the This Matters pod to talk about what's next for Poilievre. | 
