It’s safe to say these probably weren’t the headlines Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives were hoping for this week.

Two announced departures from the Conservative caucus have overshadowed Poilievre’s criticisms of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s inaugural budget, shifting the focus back to Poilievre’s leadership ahead of his party’s convention in January.

While the circumstances around Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont’s defection to the Liberals and Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux’s out-of-the-blue early retirement differ, both were political gifts to the Carney government.

Two connected Tories who spoke to Global News worried they were more symptoms of a “malaise” that has fallen over the party since April’s election loss.

“In caucus, there’s a reasonably widespread concern that maybe P

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