The attacks are escalating between Conservative leadership candidates Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest as the party’s race to name its new leader heats up.

With Charest stating Poilievre should be disqualified over his support of the “Freedom Convoy” protests, and Poilievre shooting back suggesting that Charest’s past positions mean he’s out of touch with current Conservative supporters, CTV News Channel’s Power Play brought together key advisers from each campaign to debate.

In this segment, key Poilievre adviser Jenni Byrne and co-chair of Charest leadership campaign Tasha Kheiriddin get into a heated exchange over their respective candidates’ positions, from debating rally sizes, to accusing each other of running negative campaigns.

Watch the debate in the video at the top of this article.