Is Erin O’Toole a fool? The conservative leader would not be so stupid as to reject the support of the extreme right of the conservative party? Yet we read that he does not think he needs them. It was that kind of thinking that enabled Preston Manning to create the reform party in 1987. It encouraged the breakaway of the wildrose party in Alberta in 2008. It has encouraged Canadians to always watch Alberta for the best fun and games in politics.
But the astute political observer will tell you that Alberta voters have been paying the price ever since. It is more than the conclusion that in the West, the right would rather fight. And it explains why Maxime Bernier’s people’s party has such a large number of supporters in Alberta.
O’Toole needs to talk to Stephen Harper. It was not until Harper suckered Peter MacKay into bringing the right wing of Canadian politics under the conservative party of Canada umbrella that it was able to defeat the liberals and form a government that lasted almost ten years.
And bear in mind that the conservative party is not just there to give Canadians respite from the liberals. There are a lot of mean and selfish people in Canada who want government out of their pockets. There are also the social conservatives who want to deny others an abortion, their right to medically assisted dying or any religion, if that is their choice.
There are also those who have no understanding of debt and rail against those who willingly commit to paying for some amenities over years rather than paying as they go.
Mr. O’Toole has previously told Canadians that he sees the conservative party as a ‘big tent’ party able to accommodate the extremes of conservatism. And yet many of these conservative voters have no idea of the ideology behind this party of their parents.
As voters, each of us has a responsibility to elect the best person to represent all the people in their constituency. If you prefer to elect the person who just represents a party, you can have the next four years to regret it.
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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry
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