Conservatives need to vote wisely this time around

Back in 2020, I had my letter to the editor published in The Hill Times, titled "O’Toole leadership win would be victory for Trudeau." I argued that former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole was not sufficiently moderate to win. I believe that my prediction was proven correct when O’Toole lost last year’s election, and was almost entirely locked out of vote-rich Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver on account of his pro-gun stance and refusal to answer when asked if systemic racism exists. I believe the Conservatives would have won last year’s election had they picked the more moderate and progressive Peter MacKay as their leader instead. I write once again to express my deep concern that leadership front-runner Pierre Poilievre—who is even more right-wing than O’Toole—will ensure that the Trudeau Liberals win the next election by default, if he becomes the next Conservative leader. Conservatives need to chose wisely this time, and make Jean Charest their next leader, if they wish to win the next election. Only a centrist, moderate, and progressive ‘Red Tory’ federal Conservative leader can win in vote-rich urban Canada. Poilievre, a protégé of Preston Manning, an Albertan, and a former Reform Party of Canada insider, is quite simply too right-wing to crack the Liberal fortress in urban Canada, especially in the east of the country. He is even more pro-gun than O’Toole (a total nonstarter in urban Canada), and his moaning about the toppling of racist statues, along with support for the far-right truckers' convoy—which featured Nazi and Confederate flags—will be a huge red flag for the large concentration of new immigrants and people of colour in urban Canada. His past anti-abortion voting record, despite his claims to be pro-choice now, will hurt him in both large Canadian cities as well as secular Quebec. Conservatives need to vote wisely this time with the end goal of defeating the Trudeau Liberals in mind. Gila Kibner Edmonton, Alta.

Conservatives need to vote wisely this time around

To avoid repeating mistakes of the past, Conservatives must vote for a moderate leader who can appeal to urban and eastern Canada, writes Gila Kibner of Edmonton, Alberta.

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Conservatives need to vote wisely this time around

To avoid repeating mistakes of the past, Conservatives must vote for a moderate leader who can appeal to urban and eastern Canada, writes Gila Kibner of Edmonton, Alberta.

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