Omnibus: Conservative Leadership Race

spaminator

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Ontario MP Scott Aitchison makes Tory leadership bid official
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Mia Rabson
Publishing date:Mar 20, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 3 minute read • 6 Comments
Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Scott Aitchison.
Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Scott Aitchison. PHOTO BY SUPPLIED /TORONTO SUN
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OTTAWA — Two more Conservative MPs joined the party’s leadership roster Sunday, with Ontario’s Scott Aitchison and British Columbia’s Marc Dalton launching their campaigns.

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Aitchison, 49, chose a craft brewery in his hometown of Huntsville, Ont., for his opening event, promising to bring an end to the hyper-partisan antics and political games that are the norm now in Canadian politics.

“More partisan bickering is simply not the answer,” he said, as an energetic crowd waved colourful signs simply printed with the word “Scott” on them.

“Solving problems requires real leadership. I’ve been in Parliament now two terms. And I am dismayed by the energy wasted on political games, instead of getting things done. What’s missing in Ottawa is leadership.”

He promised a campaign free of attacks on his opponents that focuses on the economy, national and global security, climate change and housing.

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Dalton, 61, did his launch on Twitter, saying in a posted video that one of his first actions as leader will be to initiate a public inquiry into how the federal Liberals handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dalton accused the Liberals of using pandemic contracts to line the pockets of their friends, making decisions based on politics rather than public health, and ignoring evidence about vaccine injuries to push ahead with “coercive measures to get people vaccinated.”

Both men were first elected to the House of Commons in 2019. Aitchison previously served as a councillor and then mayor in Huntsville, and Dalton as a B.C. Liberal MLA.

Their entrance means there are now four sitting MPs running, including Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis.

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There are now eight candidates in total, with the four sitting MPs joined by former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber and Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault.

The Conservatives are choosing their third leader in five years after Erin O’Toole was voted out of the job by the Conservative caucus in early February.

The candidates have until April 19 to enter the race and until June 3 to sell memberships. The vote will take place Sept. 10.

Aitchison’s pledge not to run a campaign of attacks is in stark contrast to much of what has been happening in the race so far.

Brown and Poilievre went at each other directly on Twitter last week after Brown accused Poilievre of supporting “discriminatory policies” that target immigrants while a cabinet minister in 2015.

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He referred specifically to Poilievre’s support for a ban against women wearing a niqab during citizenship ceremonies, which was a policy of the former Conservative government that was eventually struck down by the courts.

In response Poilievre accused Brown of outright “lies” about everything from the niqab ban policy, to his position on carbon taxes and Ontario’s new sex-ed curriculum.

Poilievre in turn has levied sharp attacks at Charest, a former Progressive Conservative party leader nationally who led the provincial Liberals in Quebec. Poilievre has said Charest is not a true Conservative.

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Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Scott Aitchison.
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Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Feb. 26, 2020 in Ottawa.
Poilievre's team takes aim at Charest's Conservative cred as his campaign takes shape

Poilievre, with endorsements from 44 current Conservative MPs, is considered the front-runner in the contest, well eclipsing caucus endorsements for Charest, who has nine, and Brown and Lewis who both have two.

On Saturday, Brown got a big endorsement boost from Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who had declined to endorse anyone in either of the last two contests.

Aitchison’s sole MP endorsement Sunday came from Kenora MP Eric Melillo.
 

Nick Danger

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It's going to be a horse race for sure. It's a bit of a crapshoot as to whether Poilievre has wide enough appeal to win the federal contest, and Charest is up against a serious challenge to win the party leadership. The CPC is just too diverse in it's internal differences, the polarization that caused the Reform Party to form in the first place has always been in the background since they married the PCs to form the CPC, and their internal bickering makes that plain to everyone. Poilievre and Brown throwing rocks and calling each names doesn't do much to help voter confidence, if they can't be seen to keep their own shop in order how can they expect to be handed the keys to the country? Ms. Bergen giving O'Toole the heave-ho out of Stornoway so she can have it for a few short months at a cost to the taxpayers of about $20K doesn't say a lot about her commitment to keeping expenditures down. Not a big ticket item to be sure, but money that didn't really have to be spent on a temp.
 

taxme

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Feb 11, 2020
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I've read a bit on this and there are verifiable biological differences between liberal and conservatives, or more accurately basic differences in the way people think that cause them to tend to the liberal of convservative ends of the spectrum. With that in mind, the challenge of finding common ground between the two is incredibly difficult.

Scheer and O'Toole both came really close to victory as far as the popular vote went, that suggests that a win isn't out of the question, they just have to get realistic about what it is that turns people away from voting conservative in the metropolitan areas.

A good start for the conservative party would be for them to try and get more votes in the next election is to tell we the peasants that what we want to hear from them is that they only believe in more freedom, less government, and less taxes and stick to that promise if elected. Why Canada is in such a bloody mess is because we have way too much government, way too many taxes, and less freedom than what we had many decades ago. The conservative party must end ass kissing special interest groups that are only there for their own interests and agendas and not there for Canada's interest.

If all the conservative party is going to run on is climate change and stupid leftist liberal/socialist programs and agendas like CRT, and try and pretend that they want to create more unity and less division, that will not work anymore. That is just more liberal stupid nonsense talk that never goes anywhere. But cutting taxes, cutting government, and offering more freedom should do the trick for the conservative party. The conservative party must not allow small minority groups being able to dictate to the majority. 1% of the population should not be able to change this country with socialist like agendas and programs that the majority did not ask for or agreed with. That is tyranny and not democracy when a small fringe minority can dictate to the majority how things will be done from now on. Screw that minority chit nonsense. Works for me. (y)
 

taxme

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Do you think a "Trump-like" individual would gain traction outside those already voting conservative, or even get sweeping support within the party ? Most of the people I know look to what went down in the US under Trump with either disgust or horror, nothing we'd want in Canada. We're just too darned nice for that shit. :)

It's hard to call as to where most conservative party members stand in this country. They call themselves conservative but every thing they say and want to do smacks of leftist liberalism. Maxine Bernier found that out when he was running for the leadership of the conservative party. His conservative policies were to way to much for the so called conservative majority of the conservative party to try and deal with and try and become. They were totally afraid of the lying and fake Canadian MSM in Canada. This is why the conservative party may never get elected to office. They are totally afraid of the media in Canada or it is because they are really a bunch of liberals in conservative clothing.

Trump did not give a shit about the rest of the traitors and the fake and lying American media had to say that were running against him for the Presidents job. Trump told the people what they wanted to hear and he stuck with what he said he would do. Trump did make America great again. Bidumb has once again made America not so great once again.

The only people that saw disgust and horror in Trump were those phukin useless leftist liberal pos who voted for Bidumb. Sadly, most Canadians always seem to only want to get themselves more involved with American politics rather than with Canadian politics. Most Canadians have a problem. They really do like to butt their noses into other countries affairs. While Canada burns, the majority of Canadians seems to have gone bonkers over this Russian/Ukranian feud which is none of their phukin business. Just more foreign politics that most Canadians get involved with that have no clue about politics period. If the lying media tells Canadians that Putin is the problem, well then, that must be true. And those same stupid losers are way too lazy to even try to get the other side of the story.

Well I have, and I do not see where Putin is the main problem here at all. That Zelensky guy is just as bad if not worse than Putin. Just my opinion of course. (y)
 

taxme

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That discussion was over and done with a long time ago. He's not stupid, I'll give him that, he managed to finagle his way into the White House, but he sure as hell didn't deserve it.
But Joe Bidumb did deserve the White House, eh? In one year of that buffoons presidency America is well on it's way to becoming a third world hell hole thanks to the demonrats that stole the election from Trump. High gas prices, high inflation. high housing prices, and the border between Mexico and America is in total chaos. Those are just a few of the many reasons why America is going down hill fast thanks to their dear globalist puppet on a string leader Joe Bidumb. What a bloody disaster that dip shit has become for America.

And Canada has it's own globalist puppet on a string dip shit that is also trying to destroy this once great country called Canada. The world needs Trump back as President otherwise America will get worse and worse even more than what it is already today. And Canada can use a Trump like leader to try and save us all from this third world hell hole country that our dear comrade leader has given us. Either Pierre Poilievre or Maxine Bernier can become the Trump of Canada. (y)
 

taxme

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A horserace and a crapshoot?

You been spending too much time at the casino, Nick.
And you have been spending way too much time at the Saul Alinsky Marxist school for dumb downed idiots. You should go to a casino and try and have some fun for a change. Too much sitting around the camp fire is starting to fry your brain or what is left of it. Just saying. :D
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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And you have been spending way too much time at the Saul Alinsky Marxist school for dumb downed idiots. You should go to a casino and try and have some fun for a change. Too much sitting around the camp fire is starting to fry your brain or what is left of it. Just saying. :D
'Sup, taxme? How do your garden grow?
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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If the Conservatives were smart, they'd use this time grow that tent.

Really big opportunity for them and I strongly doubt Peepee is the answer but hey, I could be wrong.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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If the Conservatives were smart, they'd use this time grow that tent.

Really big opportunity for them and I strongly doubt Peepee is the answer but hey, I could be wrong.
I don’t think you’re wrong, & they (Conservatives) have got three years to point out Lib/NDP Fiscal Restraint as the budget balances itself. Now if the Conservatives just had a strong and effective finance critic?

Oh wait, your guy! He’ll be asking tough straight forward questions and getting non-answers for the next three years now.
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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The Conservatives existential crisis is that they always need a bad guy to entice voters.

If they put in the work to prove their own merit, instead of trying to save us from their bogeyman of the hour, they might have a crack at a majority.
 

Nick Danger

Council Member
Jul 21, 2013
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Penticton, BC
The Conservatives existential crisis is that they always need a bad guy to entice voters.

If they put in the work to prove their own merit, instead of trying to save us from their bogeyman of the hour, they might have a crack at a majority.
The trouble is that Conservative policy isn't particularly attractive under close examination, consisting chiefly of austerity programs and favours to the corporate sector. They need the distraction of giving voters something to be angry about.