Former Quebec premier Jean Charest launched his bid for the Conservative leadership Thursday by saying he wants to unite the party, which he believes has spent the past years “badly distracted” and “fractured.”
Charest appeared at a brewery in Calgary to kick off his campaign, which he acknowledged is going to be a tough fight.
He also said he believes it's wrong for the federal Liberal government to go ahead with its planned increase of the carbon price on April 1.Charest emphasized his experience in both federal and provincial politics as having prepared him for the leadership, promising to deliver Conservative party members a win in the next election
Charest's bid to lead the Tories means he's re-entering federal politics for the first time in more than 20 years and he has hopped onto social media for the occasion. “He has governed with a commitment to conservative principles like balanced budgets, smaller government, and championed tax relief and policies for families. This record won him three consecutive elections,” it says.
Earlier Thursday, Charest did a series of media interviews, where he expressed his opposition to Bill 21, a controversial secularism law in Quebec that prohibits public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbol on the job.
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