Finally, a Conservative leadership race with more than one shade of blue
The Conservative Party leadership race has been dominated by two stories lately: the turnout at rallies held by the presumptive front-runner, Pierre Poilievre; and the nastiness of the sparring between Mr. Poilievre and his chief rival, Jean Charest.
Mr. Poilievre and his spokespeople have counterpunched by accusing Mr. Charest, who served three terms as Quebec’s Liberal premier, of being a Liberal in disguise, and a Conservative-come-lately. But calling it a “merger” isn’t accurate. It was a takeover of the PC Party by the populist, Western-based Canadian Alliance. Today, the Conservative Party is defined by a deep suspicion of Ottawa and Central Canadian “elites,” a rock-hard opposition to carbon pricing and gun controls, unquestioned support for the oil and gas industry, and resentment verging on hatred of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It’s also why Mr. O’Toole portrayed himself as a “true blue” Conservative in the 2020 party leadership race. He won that contest by campaigning against the carbon tax and gun control, and by aligning himself with two hard-right social conservatives on the ranked ballot used to select the leader. Mr. Poilievre is who he is – a populist cashing in on anger at Ottawa and the Trudeau Liberals. He is trying to expand the party membership by signing up people who are anxious about the high cost of housing – a group that includes younger, urban voters.
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