Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets members of the Pickering Caribbean-Canadian Cultural Association Thursday in Pickering. He has simply too much baggage. The sooner he is gone the better, Craig Wallace writes.
Christopher Katsarov, The Canadian Press file photo
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets members of the Pickering Caribbean-Canadian Cultural Association Thursday in Pickering. He has simply too much baggage. The sooner he is gone the better, Craig Wallace writes.
Christopher Katsarov, The Canadian Press file photo
If a federal election was held today, polls indicate the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Pierre Poilievre would win a majority government. The current Liberal government could be decimated.
For the record, I have never once voted Liberal. I am a “Red Tory.” By that I am socially liberal and fiscally conservative. The Liberals hold no attraction for me. Nor do the Conservatives with their constant rage, and lack of coherent policies. I am not the only such Canadian voter out there who feels like I do. So, if anyone at Liberal party headquarters is wondering how to get our votes and possibly avoid an electoral catastrophe, here are a few ideas.
First, jettison Justin Trudeau forthwith! He is finished. He is despised in half the country (Western Canada). He is plagued by scandals (SNC Lavalin, Aga Khan, WE, Blackface, etc.,) and has simply too much baggage. The sooner he is gone the better!
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Next, turn your focus away from only central Canada. The Liberals have never been a truly national party. Liberal governments seldom have much representation from Western Canada. A shocking fact here is the Liberals have never once been led by someone from west of Ontario.
Oh, you may say “what about John Turner?” Turner was born in the United Kingdom and lived in Vancouver and Ottawa as a child. He attended McGill University, became a lawyer in Montreal and ran for Parliament in Montreal and Ottawa. It was only when he returned to public life in 1984 that he ran for office in Vancouver. So, if they want my vote, they need to be a truly national party — that means a leader from the west for the first time. There are some good candidates they could look at.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland was born and raised in Alberta. If she becomes leader, she could give up her Toronto seat and run for a seat in Alberta. That would be a very important symbolic move showing Liberals do value Western Canadians.
Another idea would be to reach out to Jody Wilson-Raybould and convince her to return to the party and run for the leadership. What a bold move this would be! She would be their first female leader, and the first Indigenous prime minister — and she is from the West!
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Having one of these two women as leader would ensure the votes of “progressives,” give Westerners a reason to believe the Liberals do care about them, and, very importantly, give them their first female leader.
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Next, how about stealing from the platform of the old Reform party? In particular their ideas on civility and democracy in Parliament.
The Reform party came to Ottawa in 1993 pledging never to heckle and stated they would provide the Liberal government with the questions to be asked in question period the following day, with the provision that the government be prepared to answer them. That didn’t work as the Liberals firmly believed they had no obligation to provide clear, concise answers to the opposition and wouldn’t co-operate. The Liberals also brutally heckled Reform party members speaking in the House of Commons. In no ways did Canadians benefit from this behaviour. It was appalling.
The Liberals are known for rigid party discipline. The Reform party argued for more free votes and for members of Parliament to be bound by the wishes of their constituents if a consensus could be ascertained. Something for the Liberals to consider.
As the Reform party is part of the roots of the modern Conservative party, such moves would leave the Conservatives in a quandary — they really couldn’t oppose them. And it would separate the Liberals from the Conservatives in a positive way.
The Liberals are currently on a path to utter destruction. Ideas like I have described would give them a possible chance to survive in power.
Craig Wallace is a Hamilton resident and author of five books.
