Federal conservatives headed to the far-right fringes – Winnipeg Free Press

What do they mean by "true conservative?"

Sown into the narrative of the September Conservative Party of Canadas leadership campaign is yet another a debate about who or what is truly conservative. Or, to be completely accurate in the context of the current leadership race, "truly Conservative."

Leadership hopeful Pierre Poilievre has become the latest advocate of the true Conservative movement. Fluently bilingual, born in Calgary, and now holding a seat in the greater Ottawa area, Poilievre is a fiscal and social conservative with strong libertarian sensibilities, a skepticism about climate change and a refined grasp of retail politics.

Poilievre is considered the front-runner in the race to replace former leader Erin OToole, although hes also the only declared candidate right now. But even without a formal opponent to battle, hes clearly concerned about reports suggesting that former Quebec premier and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leader Jean Charest is considering a run.

Pierre Poilievre is considered the front-runner in the race to replace former leader Erin OToole. (Michael Bell / The Canadian Press files)

Perhaps to discourage him from entering the race, Poilievres forces are letting the party members know that Charest is not a "true Conservative."

The rhetoric is becoming dangerously unstable. Recently, Tory MP Shannon Stubbs, who is from Alberta, Tweeted a meme of Charest and Trudeau together with the message that "our leader must share our values and respect our policies."

Statements like this start to sound dangerously sectarian. It doesnt matter whether youre talking about race, religion or political ideology, anyone touting the "one true way" is really just trying to bludgeon dissent and debate within an institution.

How do Poilievre and his supporters come to this conclusion about Charest?

Once a leader of the now-defunct federal Progressive Conservative party, Charest left federal politics and went on to become the premier of Quebec and leader (gasp!) of the Quebec Liberal party. Western conservatives may gag at Charests career path but informed sources closer to the scene of that bit of political history know the Quebec Liberal party has very little in common with the federal Liberal party.

Moreover, Quebec political pundits understand that many federal Conservatives park their provincial votes with the Liberals. Disparaging Charests time as a provincial Liberal may help Poilievre win support from Western Canadian party members, but it wont help his partys flagging fortunes in Quebec.

None of that stopped MPs, Senators and strategists supporting Poilievre from assailing Charest as having questionable Conservative credentials.

Poilievre supporters have accused Charest of unforgivable sins of supporting gun control, advocating for carbon pricing to combat climate change and otherwise embracing "anti-energy" policies that would devastate Canadas oil and gas industry. Its almost as if the entire party failed to embrace the painful lessons dealt to them in the last federal election.

Once a leader of the now-defunct federal Progressive Conservative party, Jean Charest left federal politics and went on to become the premier of Quebec. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)

In a bid to defuse the Liberal partys tenuous hold on power, OToole tried to muzzle ugly socially conservative notions, moderate his partys position on climate change and pandemic management and avoid getting drawn into the quagmire of debates on things such as gun control. When he lost, he was labelled a turncoat by many of the people who are now lining up behind Poilievre.

Those people simply will not accept that OTooles failure in last falls election was not due to his refusal to adopt far-right values; his defeat was sown by a party that refuses to give up values and policies that only appeal to a small, angry constituency.

The biggest problem facing the CPC now is that there appears to be very little chance of going back and making the party more moderate, and thus more competitive.

The evolution of the CPC from Progressive Conservative through the Canadian Alliance party has shown an increasing appetite to lurch the party to the right. Former leader and prime minister Stephen Harper tried soft-selling true Conservatism to voters until, in 2015, he let the country see just how far right of centre he really was.

To borrow heavily from Monty Pythons infamous Dead Parrot skit, the progressive conservative movement that married the ideas of socially progressive and fiscally conservative has simply "expired." Its metabolic processes are now history. Its kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible. This is an ex-movement.

And what will replace it?

It looks increasingly likely the CPC is headed to the far-right fringes of the political wilderness. Under Poilievre, its easy to see the party attempt a raid on the ranks of the Peoples Party of Canada to create a new and potent right-wing movement, a la Donald Trumps "Make America Great Again" juggernaut.

The problem is that to achieve true power as a true Conservative in Canada, he needs to win more seats than any other party. If Trump had to win seats, as opposed to votes in a popularity contest, he would not have become president. Poilievre seems destined to follow a political strategy that simply does not work in a Canadian context.

Perhaps Charest, or another viable moderate, will run against Poilievre and make the CPC a truly national political party.

More likely is a scenario where he wins the leadership, alienates conservative voters outside of Western Canada, and allows the Liberals to continue governing on the slimmest of electoral margins.

Apparently, this is the fate that awaits the true Conservatives.

dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com

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Federal conservatives headed to the far-right fringes - Winnipeg Free Press