Conservative Party

Charest condemns leadership rival Poilievre’s convoy, crypto, climate policies

Doubling down on his condemnation of his Conservative leadership rival, Jean Charest says that Pierre Poilievre should be disqualified from becoming leader of the federal Conservative party over his support of the “Freedom Convoy.”

“Everyone knows that Pierre Poilievre supported the blockade,” Charest said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period. “If you say to Canadians: ‘I want to be the leader of the Conservative Party and I want to be the chief legislator of the country, but I don’t have to obey the laws,’ I’m sorry. That’s not just a failure in leadership. It disqualifies you, as far as I’m concerned, as being someone who thinks or aspires to be a leader of a party.”

With 10 days left for candidates to enter the Conservative party leadership race — and 20 before $300,000 worth in fees are due — what’s capturing the attention of those watching as of late are the crowds.

More specifically, who’s drawing them in and who isn’t.

Pierre Poilievre would fall into the first category, as the longtime Ottawa-area MP has been consistently appearing before massive groups of people at rallies across the country.

You would think that by now the brain trust behind the major Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership candidates would have learned that if you betray your base on climate change, you won’t survive long as party leader.

Conservative leadership hopeful Jean Charest is turning up the heat against perceived frontrunner Pierre Poilievre, taking him to task for his support of the trucker protests that took over downtown Ottawa and led to blockades at border crossings.

“I have a competitor by the name of Mr. Poilievre who supported, as you know, the blockade,” Charest told CTV Morning Live on Friday. “And if you want to be a leader in this country and a legislator, you can’t make laws and break laws.

“Laws are not a buffet table, if you’re a legislator, from which you choose what you want. Because what you’re really saying to people is I’m above the law,” Charest added in a separate interview with CTV News.

Poilievre seems to have gained the momentum.

OTTAWA—As Pierre Poilievre and his team watch thousands of people jam into his Conservative leadership campaign events, they say they are seeing a new political movement take shape.

Gesturing to all the young people at an event in North York last week, Conservative MP Adam Chambers called it proof Poilievre is reaching a different demographic.

“This is a new thing for the Conservative party,” he said.

But Poilevre’s campaign also knows that a movement alone isn’t going to win him the leadership.

What appears to be drawing them are his calls for freedom: from vaccine mandates, from regulations that make it hard to build affordable homes, from taxes that make it expensive to drive a car, and as a whole from a government he says has too much control over their lives.

HMA

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government prepares to hike the federal carbon tax another ten dollars per tonne of emissions on Friday, the leading Conservative leadership candidates all agree on one thing — it’s the wrong move.

But that’s where their consensus ends. Questions about what Canada should do with carbon pricing, financial offsets to consumers and the broader fight against climate change are still very much up for debate among Conservative leadership candidates. In many cases, the candidates’ master plans are still being written.

Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre promised Friday a government led by him would take a hard line on what he calls “polluting dictatorships” by dramatically curbing foreign oil imports from countries like Saudi Arabia while boosting Canadian production to make up the shortfall.

Oil imports have moved to the forefront of the political agenda since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine last month. In response to that violent incursion, many Western democracies have signalled they’ll boycott Russian energy products to cut off a crucial source of foreign currency for Putin and his regime.

How about declaring energy a matter of national security and building pipelines?

The possibility of having the next Conservative leader serve up to three years on the opposition benches before the next general election presents opportunities as well as challenges for leadership hopefuls, according to strategists.

With a Liberal-NDP deal in place until 2025, Conservative leadership contenders Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest, in particular, might want to think twice before claiming they are “running for prime minister” or that they are “built to win” a majority government.

Three in 10 Canadians say they would never vote Conservative: Nanos survey

Recent polling from Nanos Research shows Canadians believe a more socially progressive and economically centrist Conservative Party would make it more appealing.

According to the latest poll, commissioned by CTV News, when asked what would be the best path forward for the Conservative Party to make it a more appealing voting choice, 29 per cent of respondents said “be socially progressive and more centrist on economic issues.”

Meanwhile, 30 per cent said they would never vote Conservative.

It would appear the CPC braintrust is ahead of the curve in their quest to be the Liberal party.

It is not given to the mind of mortal man to understand the internal dynamics of the Conservative party. It is a monster of its own peculiar logic, and as to its nature or purpose in any given period, well, that is as elusive as the mysteries and paradoxes of quantum mechanics, and as unsearchable as the continued airing of television’s “The View.”

Despite the evident inclination by the usual suspects to favour Charest Poilievre really isn’t much different, certainly not different than the last two CPC leaders. It will be the CPC 2.0 regardless of who wins.

He’s a great wingman.

Former Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders will run as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the upcoming provincial election.

The party announced Saunders as its candidate for Don Valley West in a news release issued on Tuesday morning.

The riding is currently represented by Liberal Kathleen Wynne, however the former premier will not be seeking re-election in June.

Charest has the edge in Ontario over Conservative leadership rival Poilievre, poll suggests

A new poll released today suggests former Quebec premier Jean Charest has the advantage in the all-important electoral battleground of Ontario over Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, his primary adversary in the Conservative leadership race.

The Angus Reid Institute poll, which surveyed 5,105 Canadians from March 10-15, also found Charest is the favoured candidate among people who’ve voted Liberal in the past.