Lead Public Affairs Counsellor Andrea Sarkic spoke to The Toronto Star about the Conservative opportunity to define new Liberal Leader Mark Carney ahead of an expected election campaign.

Even so, the Conservatives might see an opportunity as Carney continues to keep his financial interests private, at least in the state they were in before the blind trust, said Andrea Sarkic, a former Conservative staffer who is now a counsellor at the government relations and public affairs firm Compass Rose.

The party has a track record of effectively defining opponents in a negative way, she said, pointing to how the Tories cast former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff as out of touch and self-interested in his quest for the prime ministership after returning from an academic career abroad.

“Pierre and the Conservatives will dig at an issue until there’s movement,” Sarkic said. “If there is a gap left open, or a narrative that is not yet defined, Pierre will define that narrative before someone else can.”