Clearly, the Conservative Party of Canada is out of luck when it comes to crowning its new leaders. In 2020, the advent of Erin O’Toole was delayed until the wee hours of the morning because of a technical mess.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This time, it is the death of Elizabeth II which overshadows the event which will take place on Saturday evening, even if we have thought of postponing it. Mourning requires, we will do so in sobriety, with a tribute to the queen, instead of a rain of confetti when the winner goes on stage.
No matter who wins, it is to be hoped that he will be able to refocus the party on its true values and leave aside the populism that is harmful to the country.
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has an important role to play on the Canadian political spectrum where other parties have moved to the left. If Justin Trudeau’s minority government can stay behind the wheel, it’s thanks to the agreement reached with the New Democrats who are sitting in the passenger seat.
They have had their way for seven months, as the Tories have been busy battling each other since their former leader Erin O’Toole was ousted in February. Some even predict the breakup of the party at the end of the race.
But at the dawn of the return to Parliament in Ottawa, the Conservative troops could instead focus on defending the issues that are traditionally theirs.
Examples ?
The health care system is in disarray across Canada. The pandemic has laid bare all its flaws which will only widen as the population ages. It’s time to think differently, to innovate, to explore other avenues. The Conservatives could fuel the debate by discussing the relevance of private health care, without questioning free healthcare.
While Justin Trudeau does not even deign to negotiate the increase in health transfers demanded by the provinces, the less centralizing Conservatives could also add their two cents.
In addition, the pandemic has also damaged our public finances. That Ottawa took out the checkbook to help the population at the height of the confinement was self-evident. But that he continued to weigh on the accelerator while the economy had already started again on the wheel hats is quite questionable. Here again, one would expect the Conservatives to preach for more budgetary discipline.
Their counterbalance is essential in Parliament. We need conservatives. Real ones! “Tories” as in the pure Canadian tradition. Not Trumpists who are going to lead the country down a dangerous path.
Unfortunately, many candidates for the CCP leadership race are swimming in this current.
Openly anti-abortion Leslyn Lewis feeds fears about childhood vaccinations. She went so far as to make links between vaccination and the scientific experiments carried out by the Nazis during the Second World War. To make your hair stand on end!
Roman Baber, a former Ontario provincial deputy, does not give his place in the category of those who objected to sanitary measures, so much so that he was shown the door by Premier Doug Ford.
But it was above all the actions of Pierre Poilievre, an ally of the truckers and great leader of the race, that caught the eye. True to his reputation as the pit bull of the House of Commons, he attacked Canadian institutions bluntly.
After singing the praises of bitcoin, which lost two-thirds of its value in less than a year, he hit out at the Bank of Canada, calling his boss a “financial illiterate” and threatening to put out the door.
Such a gesture would seriously undermine the credibility of our country. Central banks must remain free to act. Countries where politicians meddle in monetary policy usually end up with even higher inflation. Go only see in Turkey.
In his hunt for the “elites”, Pierre Poilievre also fired red bullets at the Davos Economic Forum, which brings together economic and political decision-makers from around the world each year in Switzerland.
His message resonated very strongly in the “complosphere” where a theory circulates according to which the founder of the summit is in the process of setting up a new world order anchored in the health dictatorship. This is all ridiculous!
It only fuels the now uninhibited anger and rage of a segment of the population. Agree, we can no longer ignore this popular grumbling. We must maintain the dialogue, without accepting unacceptable behavior. But the least we can do is make politicians part of the solution, not part of the problem.
It is not by dividing the population that we will advance the country. It is not by destroying our institutions that the people will be better served. You have to go back to the center to find common ground. Building bridges instead of setting fire to powder.