Wall, Charest, Kenney could be in line to succeed Harper
Whatever Stephen Harper’s decision about his future as Conservative leader, the race to succeed him at the head of that party began unofficially the moment the television networks called this election for his rival Justin Trudeau.
The Conservative Party of Canada was formed in 2003 through the merger of the Canadian Alliance ( the successor to the Reform party) and the Progressive Conservatives. It united socially conservative Prairie populists with more progressive Red Tories from the old PC party, and soft Quebec nationalists.
In some ways Harper’s leadership, and the success that followed, was the glue that held the alliance together. The potential fissures the party will now need to manage are evident in the starkly different backgrounds of the leadership hopefuls. Here are some possible contenders:
BRAD WALL
Polls show the 49- year- old Saskatchewan premier is consistently the most popular first minister in the country, and he has won two sweeping majorities in that province since 2007. Though he has played down his interest in federal politics in the past, he has the credentials to make the jump to the national stage. His reputation as a Prairie populist is impeccable, bolstered by his stances on senate abolition and rethinking equalization payments. Wall also has experience reining in a party’s right flank to win urban votes — he has done it successfully with his Saskatchewan Party for a decade — and he’s exponentially more charismatic than Harper. With Saskatchewan’s next election scheduled for April 2016, the timing is perfect for Wall to step aside for a shot at the big job.
JEAN CHAREST
Although his nine- year stint as Quebec premier, which ended in 2012, was under the Liberal banner, Charest’s politics before that were blue. He joined the cabinet of PC prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1986 at age 28 and went on to lead the party in 1993.
Five years later, Charest was pressed to take up the cause of Quebec federalists, reeling from the near secession of their province in the 1995 referendum. Charest, now 57, left politics three years ago after his party was defeated by the Parti Québécois.
Two questions loom, however. Does Charest really want to resume a political career — especially if it means a potentially lengthy stretch in opposition? And second, will a Conservative party moulded in Stephen Harper’s image embrace a Red Tory like Charest?
JASON KENNEY
Kenney, 47, was defence minister at dissolution and would be a favourite of many. Smart and engaging, Kenney has been a fixture in all the party’s iterations for nearly two decades. First elected in 1997 under the Reform banner, the Calgary MP was Harper’s parliamentary secretary during the latter’s crucial first year as prime minister in 2006. During a lengthy stint as minister of citizenship and immigration, Kenney became his party’s point of contact for the country’s ethnic communities. His work ethic is prodigious, but it’s possible he may not run, that he may be more comfortable in the role of kingmaker or second incommand.