Ottawa, Ontario September 27, 2021
Media Release
Conservative Leader O’Toole Must Go
The Red Tory, eastern elites, who control the Conservative Party thought they had their dream candidate in Erin O’Toole. The 2021 election, however, was a disaster for the Conservatives, with O’Toole as leader. O’Toole moved the party to the left, ignoring its social conservative base which has supported him in the leadership race. The base regards the move to the left as an unforgiveable betrayal, and an utterly dishonest act. O’Toole won only 119 seats, dropping 2 seats from the last election. At the first criticism from the media or the Liberals, O’Toole quivered and quaked, and quickly pulled out of his back pocket a revised policy suitable to the left.
O’Toole believed that he could follow the example of the UK’s Boris Johnson in the last UK election in which Johnson won many opposition Labour seats. He was not astute enough to realize that the situation in the UK was totally unlike the situation in Canada. O’Toole was also wrong in believing that he would pick up left-wing votes by catering to labour leaders and giving them more power and influence. The labour leaders supported the Liberals or the NDP in the election. O’Toole didn’t grasp the fact that labour leaders do not reflect the perspective of many of their rank and file union members who are forced to pay union dues, but who are hard-working, tax-paying people, with family values.
In a fruitless attempt to gain seats in Quebec, O’Toole offered an astonishingly generous platform to that province. This had the effect of alienating the multicultural community, which was alarmed by Quebec’s policies on religion.
O’Toole proudly proclaimed he was all for a woman’s “right” to abortion (although there is no such constitutional right), and was champing at the bit for a Gay Pride parade to bob and weave among the semi-naked participants, despite the fact that this is offensive to social conservatives.
O’Toole’s misguided campaign to create a watered-down Liberal party, fared far worse than his predecessor, Andrew Scheer, did in the previous election. The latter gained 26 seats more for the party in the 2019 federal election, and won the popular vote. However, he was pressured, within two months to resign from the Conservative leadership. If O’Toole and the Red Tories who control the Conservative Party haven’t realized that it was a mistake to ignore conservative principles that animate its social and fiscal conservative bases, then there is no future for the Conservative Party in Canada.
The People’s Party of Canada (PPC)
PPC leader Maxime Bernier’s popular support rose from 1.6 % in the 2019 election to 5.1% in the 2021 election. Who were the voters for the party? We know that many of these were individuals upset by the pandemic restrictions, and mandatory vaccines.
The PPC also had numerous candidates who were pro-life/family. It is certain that these candidates received votes from former Conservative Party supporters. The Liberals, with razor thin majorities in a dozen ridings, would have lost the seat if the PPC vote had gone to the Conservatives. In effect, the PPC flipped seats to the Liberals which led to the minority Liberal government rather than a minority Conservative government.
Whither Canada?
It is easy to dismiss the PPC as only a fringe party consisting of right-wing extremists. To do so, however, would be a mistake. The PPC party reflects many of the positions that the Conservative Party once stood for: balanced budgets, lower taxes, economic and political freedom. These positions, and the principles that animate them, still resonate with the vast majority of Canadians. Many Canadians are heartily sick of the control of Canada by the left-wing – both in terms of our institutions and political leadership. They want to be part of the country, not ignored, ridiculed and dismissed as nobodies.
In order for the Conservative Party to succeed, it must stick to conservative principles and serve as an authentic voice for millions of Canadians and reflect their values, views and opinions. In effect, it’s time that Conservative leaders shred leftist policies and return unapologetically to solid conservative values and principles, proposing a bold, new vision of a better Canada. Certainly, the Conservative party has failed miserably over and over again in its efforts to imitate the parties of the left. It’s time the Conservative party moved on from losing policies and upgraded its leadership and policies to become an authentically conservative party.
The renewal of the Conservative Party is possible, but can only be done with leadership that is confident, principled and articulate. Until such a leadership is found, the Conservative Party will continue to drift, serving as a hapless foil for the dominant Liberal Party.
During the election, O’Toole showed himself to be inept, and a surprisingly incompetent politician. He does not have the confidence of most conservatives who perceive him as lacking in integrity and principle. O’Toole must be removed as Conservative Party leader.