(Ottawa) Two Conservative leaders are having a bad quarter of an hour. On the federal scene, a new internal sling is emerging against Erin O’Toole. At the same time, on the Alberta side, a revolt against Jason Kenney is organized: an early vote on his leadership could be held as early as Friday.
In Ottawa, the attack on Erin O’Toole comes from the far right wing of the Conservative Party of Canada – more specifically, Saskatchewan senator Denise Batters.
The representative of this western province at the origin of this salvo was appointed to the upper house by Stephen Harper. She is close to former leader Andrew Scheer, a fellow Saskatchewanian, and she sided with Peter MacKay against Erin O’Toole in the last Conservative leadership race.
In a video posted on Twitter Monday at noon, Denise Batters invites members of the formation to sign a petition that she has launched, and whose goal is to demand a review of Erin O’Toole’s leadership within six months .
And she is not kind to the party leader. She accuses him of having overturned fundamental values without consulting the members and accuses him of having failed all along the line during the poll on September 20.
“Under the leadership of Erin O’Toole, the split within our party is growing,” she criticized in the video of about two minutes, denouncing a leader who presented himself as a “real one.” blue ”, but which then betrayed, according to her, conservative principles by making a campaign“ practically indistinguishable ”from that of the Liberals of Justin Trudeau.
“As leader, Mr. O’Toole has diluted, and even completely overthrown, our policies, without input from the party or caucus members. On the subject of the carbon tax, firearms, freedoms of conscience, he did an about-face during the same week, the same day, sometimes even in the same sentence, ”she mocked again. .
Senator Batters is the second person to launch a petition to dethrone the current leader.
Just two days after the September 20 poll, a member of the national executive, Bert Chen, initiated one to call for a referendum on the leadership of Chief Erin O’Toole, ahead of the planned vote of confidence. in 2023. The party authorities had quickly warned that the process was doomed to failure, which turned out.
With Ontario-based Leader O’Toole at the helm, the Conservatives won 119 out of 338 seats in the last election. That’s less than under his predecessor, Andrew Scheer, who won 121 seats in the previous election in 2019. Even though the Saskatchewanian wanted to stay in charge, he was pushed out and resigned two months later.
In both 2019 and 2021, all of Saskatchewan’s elected MPs were elected under the Conservative banner.
Jason Kenney in an ejection seat?
Meanwhile, in Alberta, a new tile has fallen on Conservative Premier Jason Kenney, whose leadership has been contested for several months.
BLAIR GABLE PHOTO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Alberta Conservative Premier Jason Kenney.
This is because the constituency associations of the formation he heads, the United Conservative Party (UCP), have reached the required threshold – 22 associations, or more than a quarter of them – to trigger a special meeting to conduct an early review of his leadership.
In a letter dated Nov. 15 that was posted on social media by CBC, representatives from various riding associations informed roster president Ryan Becker of their intention to hold a special meeting next Friday.
“We expect this process to proceed in accordance with the provisions [mentionnées dans la missive] », We read.
Prime Minister Jason Kenney has come under fire, in part, for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis. According to an Angus Reid poll taken just over a month ago, his approval rating is 22%, making him the most unpopular prime minister in the country.