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Long-time Conservative stalwart Geoff Norquay, who worked for former prime minister Brian Mulroney and, later, for Stephen Harper while he was in opposition, has written a scathing critique of the Conservatives’ election campaign performance.

In the article published in Policy Magazine, Norquay meticulously picks apart what went wrong for the Tories and excoriates their campaign team.

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He also examines the disaster that befell NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and praises Justin Trudeau’s Liberals for running a flawless plan.

His most striking conclusion about the 78-day campaign was just how badly the Tories played their own hand.

The team, led by campaign manager Jenni Byrne, apparently hoped to win by convincing Canadians the risk of change was too great, and by using wedge issues such as the niqab to sway votes.

“When election campaigns fail, it is usually because the team in charge — in this case, the campaign manager and her key acolytes — have gone back one time too many to the formula that brought them to success many years before,” writes Norquay.