Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the federal Conservatives would be in a better position if his own campaign manager were in charge, defending criticism from Kory Teneycke about Pierre Poilievre’s election strategy.

Mr. Ford on Monday weighed into the latest fracas between the provincial and federal conservative parties, speaking out in support of Mr. Teneycke who has accused Mr. Poilievre’s team of committing “campaign malpractice” by blowing an almost 25-point lead heading into the election.

“He’s the best campaign manager in the country. And to be very frank, if Kory was running that campaign, I don’t think Mr. Poilievre would be in the position he’s in right now,” Mr. Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park.

“But there’s still a lot of time left. We still have debates. At the end of the day, the people will decide which way we want this country to move forward, but sometimes the truth hurts.”

Mr. Teneycke, who managed the Ontario Progressive Conservatives’ three consecutive majority victories, has criticized the Poilievre team, led by campaign manager Jenni Byrne, for not pivoting earlier in the campaign to focus on the economic threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Mr. Teneycke said in a podcast released last week that the party is losing the election and has committed “campaign malpractice” at the highest level.

He said on the Curse of Politics podcast that the Poilievre campaign would be “studied for decades” as a “disaster in terms of having lost a massive lead in ways that are so obvious.”

Mr. Poilievre has dismissed the comments as coming from “Liberals and lobbyists” who want him to stop talking about issues such as high food prices and housing costs.

The federal Conservative Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Mr. Ford’s statement.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney has seen a resurgence in the polls after the resignation of prime minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year. While the Conservatives were leading in the polls by double digits heading into the election, the Liberal Party is now ahead, with Mr. Carney leading consistently on the issues of leadership and standing up to Mr. Trump.

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But the race appears to be tightening in recent days, with the Conservatives starting to narrow the polling gap.

Mr. Teneycke also addressed the Conservative election strategy early on in the campaign during a talk at the Empire Club of Canada in late March. He said Mr. Poilievre will lose the federal election unless he quickly pivots and responds to Canadians’ fear and anxiety over Mr. Trump’s economic war against Canada.

In Ontario’s February election, Mr. Ford was laser-focused on Mr. Trump’s tariff threats, seeking a mandate to stand up to the U.S. President.

“You got to get on that issue,” Mr. Teneycke said. “And you know, you might not totally win, but you can’t lose by 20 points on it. You can’t get blown away on it.”

He later added: “If they don’t get on it, and get on it quick, they are going to get obliterated.”

He also said Mr. Poilievre has “basic unlikability” and shares too many commonalities with the U.S. President, including his campaign slogan “Canada First” which emulates Mr. Trump “America First.”

“He looks too much like Trump. He sounds too much like Trump. He uses the lexicon of Trump,” Mr. Teneycke said.

Mr. Poilievre has also been highly critical of Mr. Trump during the campaign, accusing him of disrespecting Canada and calling the tariffs uncalled for and unjustified.

He has said he’s not blaming Mr. Carney for the tariffs but added that the Liberal leader is running his entire campaign on “magical, masterful negotiating techniques” that suggest Mr. Trump can somehow be controlled.

“Well, we know now that that is not true. Nobody can control this president,” Mr. Poilievre said last week.