Tory hopefuls square off

CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP CONTENDERS SEEK TO APPEAL TO PARTY’S HEARTLAND

An appeal to families, an appeal to values, an appeal to the oilpatch and an appeal to Edmonton Oilers fans — leadership hopefuls in the Conservative party’s heartland went straight for its heart Tuesday as they squared off yet again in a bilingual debate.

Thirteen of the 14 candidates crowded onto a stage in Edmonton to put their campaign policies on display and occasionally spar over popular themes like carbon pricing, the perils of a Justin Trudeau government and dusting off the notwithstanding clause to overrule liberal courts.

The 14th candidate, maverick businessman Kevin O’Leary, opted out of the debate, claiming the all-candidates format offers little opportunity for meaningful debate. Instead, he held his own gathering with party members at a downtown hotel across the street.

In a 90-minute question-and-answer session, O’Leary reiterated his goal to run the federal government on a rational, business-oriented framework, one aimed at creating jobs and opportunities for the 18-35-year-old cohort he believes is so key to forming a majority government.

He also renewed his attack on Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. He said Notley’s team has made the low-oil slump much worse by introducing new levies such as the carbon tax and by failing to provide incentives for oilpatch development.

“If she worked for me in any of my companies, I would have fired her a long time ago,” O’Leary said to applause. “She is a toxic cocktail of mediocrity and incompetence blended into one drink.”

In O’Leary’s absence, meanwhile, it was Michael Chong and his support for a “revenueneutral” carbon tax — a controversial position in Conservative circles, as well as in Alberta — that proved the most popular target in the early going.

“It is the cheapest way to reduce emissions, it is the most Conservative approach,” said Chong, who was roundly booed by the Alberta audience every time he brought up the idea.

“I am committed to this policy because it is a conservative policy that will do right for our children and our grandchildren, and do right for Canada.”

Chong likened the battle to former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s bid to secure a Canada-U.S. free-trade deal in the 1980s.

“Brian Mulroney in the 1988 free-trade election did a 180 on free trade because he knew that

fighting for free trade was the right thing for his children, and his grandchildren,” he said. “It was the right thing for Canadians and he fought that election and we won it and we have never looked back.”

Saskatchewan MP and former Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer dismissed the notion out of hand.

“I’ve never seen a revenue-neutral carbon tax,” he grinned. “If Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and a revenueneutral carbon tax all see a dollar on the sidewalk,

which one picks it up?”

At the outset of the debate, each candidate gave a brief opening statement aimed at setting themselves apart from the others — no mean feat with a total of 13 people on the stage. They made only oblique reference to the man not on the stage, as well as his famous lack of facility with French.

Across the street, O’Leary said he’s had it with the all-candidates format. “It’s not a debate,” he said. “It’s a series of 10-second sound bites.”