Interim Conservative leader Ambrose begins farewell to her political life
OTTAWA When interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose began using the photo-sharing social media site Instagram, the pictures she posted were all in black and white.
She opened the account just days after being elected the party’s temporary boss and the reflective tone of the photos matched the mood of the party: 99 MPs bruised and demoralized by an election defeat that saw Conservatives wiped off the electoral map in Atlantic Canada and pushed to the margins of the country’s urban centres.
Seven months later, the first colour photograph emerged: Ambrose, on stage at the party’s annual convention in Vancouver, with the caption “So. Much. Energy. #LookForward.”
Ambrose, it turns out, is now the one looking forward, announcing Tuesday she will resign her seat in the House of Commons when MPs break for summer, in preparation for a new life in the private sector.
She’ll leave politics credited with injecting new energy into the Conservative party and into Canadian politics itself. During a tribute to her in the House of Commons, fellow politicians complimented her sense of humour, her style and her work ethic.
“Conservatives have thrived, our party is strong, our fundraising is very robust, our caucus is united and we are an effective opposition,” said House leader Candice Bergen.
Proof of Ambrose’s skill as leader can be seen in fundraising results. While in the middle of a leadership race that usually drains funds from party coffers, the Tories took in $5.3 million in the first three months of 2017, nearly twice as much as the governing Liberals — and not including the $4.6 being raised by the leadership candidates now vying for the permanent job.
Party members choose a new leader on May 27.
“Nobody walks on water to get to the party leadership,” Ambrose told a crowd of MPs and political watchers over breakfast at Ottawa’s storied Chateau Laurier hotel.
“Whichever woman or man who wins this job will undoubtedly spend time learning, and listening and working. I did it, Stephen Harper did it and so did our predecessors.”
That her last speech was a breakfast one was fitting; one of the regular outreach activities Ambrose took on while living in the Opposition leader’s residence Stornoway was hosting breakfasts for MPs to give them a chance for more informal conversations about their concerns, what was on the minds of their constituents and just life in general.
She was often joined by her partner, J.P. Veitch, who became known for wearing a T-shirt reading “Stornoway Pool Boy” to get a laugh out of family and friends.
Together, both sought to make Stornoway an open and accessible venue for conservatives, a reflection of Ambrose’s effort to put a new face on the Conservative party as a whole.
Some of the work involved in presenting that fresh face was elevating more women into leadership positions in the Conservative shadow cabinet.
One of the early ones was Lisa Raitt, who was appointed to the highprofile position of finance critic before she stepped down to seek the permanent leadership.
In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, Raitt credited Ambrose’s work, but warned Canadians not to expect a similar approach in the House of Commons once the party chooses a new leader.
Ambrose and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have engaged in two years of “nicey-nice” in the House of Commons, with Trudeau rarely attacking Ambrose directly, she noted.
“Rona is nice,” Raitt said. “I’m not.”