Tories target young voters, talk campus recruitment at convention
With a record-number of youth turning out to vote, young Conservative convention delegates gathered in Halifax this weekend say their party can close the gap that saw the Liberals capture their demographic in 2015, if they keep the “big blue tent” in mind on controversial issues and steer clear of “inflammatory rhetoric.” The party has […]
‘Our strength is and always has been our freedom,’ Scheer tackles Trudeau, political correctness, and Bernier in first major keynote
In his keynote speech Friday Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer offered a catalogue of election-ready attacks aimed at a “virtue-signalling” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, attacking the Liberals on the carbon tax, deficits, international gaffes, immigration, political correctness, and diversity. It was a big speech for Mr. Scheer, heading into his first election as leader, made bigger […]
Supply management proposal gets the short shrift as Tories prepare policy package
Conservative Party members wrestled Friday with how they’ll be perceived by the general voting public in 2019 as they began the process of whittling down a swath of policy resolutions that will help inform the party’s next election platform. When delegates reconvene on Saturday afternoon to talk policy, they’ll be staring down a list of […]
Ex-Tory Bernier ‘childish,’ a ‘gadfly,’ say delegates angered at ‘deliberate’ distraction
HALIFAX—Despite Maxime Bernier’s move to scrap his Conservative card, members say they’re rallying to offer a more unified message that may be well rid of “fringe” elements, though some warned the Quebec MP has tapped into the grassroots on issues that should be heeded. The bomb Mr. Bernier dropped on Tory Leader Andrew Scheer’s (Regina-Qu’Appelle, […]
Maxime Bernier’s explosive exit from Conservative Party has ‘no impact’ on Tory Halifax huddle, say MPs
HALIFAX/PARLIAMENT HILL—Quebec MP Maxime Bernier announced in Ottawa on Thursday that he is leaving the Conservative Party, saying that he is in “politics to defend ideas, real conservative ideas.” But in Halifax, where thousands of Conservative Party members have gathered to debate those ideas, Mr. Bernier’s (Beauce, Que.) now-former caucus colleagues say his decision changes […]
Divisive riding-refund clawback pulled from agenda, as Tories set to talk policy in Halifax
A proposed change to the federal Conservative Party’s constitution aimed at stopping the national body from clawing back money from its riding associations has been pulled from consideration at this week’s convention. The proposal, sponsored by the electoral district association for Carleton, Ont., was part of the association’s campaign to stop the implementation of a 2017 decision […]
2018 Conservative policy convention schedule
Thursday, Aug. 23 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Registration Open 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MP Info Sessions Making Life Affordable Immigration and Foreign Affairs Science, Innovation, and the Environment Justice, Health, and Public Safety 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Building a Campaign Team & Managing Your Human Resources 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. C2W, […]
Halifax huddle a chance for Scheer to step from Harper’s shadow and shine
OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer heads into this week’s party convention in reasonable shape despite the best efforts of Maxime Bernier to do whatever it was he was trying to do. As Scheer travels to Halifax, his party’s fundraising numbers remain impressive, the party’s polling numbers are good, and generally his caucus is unified. Any other […]
Tories must ‘find a way to manage Max,’ but Bernier’s ‘selfish gesture’ won’t cast too dark a shadow over convention: strategists, MPs
As Conservatives huddle in Halifax this week to hash out their plan to topple the Liberal government next year, Tory MPs and politicos say they expect the convention’s focus to firmly remain on 2019 strategy, despite the recent distraction caused by MP Maxime Bernier. The three-day Conservative National Convention kicks off on Aug. 23 at […]
Halifax policy convention Scheer’s time to focus on homegrown visability
A policy convention is something like a Seinfeldian Festivus, or a biennial airing of grievances. As former Conservative strategist Tim Powers told The Hill Times in today’s paper, it’s three days on the therapist’s couch—a massive counselling session to get everything out in the open. But there’s a reason most people don’t broadcast their own […]
