What does Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party Stand For? August 30th, 2023 News Commentary
Policy conventions can be a blessing or a curse in the game of political optics
The federal Conservative Party will be holding their annual policy convention in early September in Quebec City. What they discuss and how they resolve some key controversial issues will go a long way towards Canadians’ understandings of just what Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party stands for.
Judging from some of Poilievre’s musings lately, you can bet that he’d like the emphasis to be on cost of living, which includes high food prices, high mortgage rates and high house prices. In other words… the three-headed monster created by inflation. Especially since Poilievre has been trying to put the entire blame for this economic pestilence on Justin Trudeau. And, of course, the longer these economic Revelations continue, the more that Canadians may start buying into Poilievre’s narrative.
So, expect the usual bombast that only Poilievre has the magic formula to cure Canada’s troubles. Of course, he hasn’t told us how he intends to do that, but those kinds of details are not what Poilievre is all about.
It seems he figures that all he has to do is play into the anger of pissed off Canadians and victory will be his… but there are other factors at play that may sidetrack Poilievre’s lofty ambitions.
It’s no secret that there is a radical right wing sect in the Conservative Party that wants to see the Party make bold statements about a number of social and cultural issues.
They want to see an end to vaccine mandates, when another pandemic comes our way.
They want to eliminate diversity training in workplaces, because they feel that discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion are “totalitarian”.
Sounds like they want workplaces to be allowed to cling to their (statistically proven) gender-based and race-based biases. They must forget that most Canadians… don’t look like them. So much for “standing up” for hard-working Canadian families!
And, speaking of families, there will be a push to have the federal Conservatives support New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s attempts to essentially give parents the ultimate say in issues involving a student’s sexual and gender orientation.
Controversial? Absolutely!
Politically damaging? Quite possibly. (Anyone wanna bet?)
The problem at said policy sessions is that many of these hot button ideas are brought forth from the convention floor, not from Poilievre or Party officials, and everyone gets to vote on them.
Moderate Conservatives (the very few that exist these days) are worried that passage of some or all of these controversial policies could paint Poilievre and his team as too radical and out-of-step with 21st century social mores.
Is this the kind of stuff that will attract voters in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario’s large cities, where the motherload of moderate voters can make or break a political Party's quest for power?
There’s a large concern in many circles that the extremist political and societal policies infecting American politics are infiltrating Canadian politics, too.
Is it true?
We may get the answer to that, sooner than later!
Catch up on Bill’s related, earlier articles, here:
Will Poilievre’s Makeover Sway Canadian Voters? Canadian Politics August 20, 2023