Ontario Tory leadership hopefuls steer right
The four contenders to be Ontario’s next Conservative leader made clear their intentions to steer their party to the right Thursday, vowing to battle Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over a possible carbon tax and blasting the provincial Liberals’ controversial sex-education program.
In the first debate of a hastily called, truncated leadership race, the candidates rejected to varying degrees the legacy of Patrick Brown, who resigned as leader last month over sexual-misconduct allegations he calls lies.
Brown had left behind a centreright platform that promised tax cuts and other conservative red meat, but that also promised significant new spending and a tax on carbon to help pay for it all.
On Thursday all the candidates reiterated their opposition to the tax. Three of the four said they would revisit or tear up the Wynne administration’s sex-ed curriculum, an issue Brown had avoided.
“I’m hearing, across the province, that people are sick and tired of the Liberal ideology that is being shoved down their throats,” businessman Doug Ford, a former Toronto mayoral candidate, said about sex-ed. “I believe in educating your kids at home first, when it comes to this.”
Lawyer Caroline Mulroney, one of two neophytes in the race, staked out the most moderate positions, rejecting the carbon tax but saying she would leave the sex-ed curriculum in place. The daughter of former PM Brian Mulroney appeared unexpectedly poised for someone with no political experience.
“What people are looking for is something different,” Mulroney said when asked if she had the experience to be premier of Canada’s biggest province. “They want a new approach to politics, they don’t want a career politician.”
Christine Elliott, former MPP and twice previously a candidate for the party ’s leadership, is known for a sedate style and did little to change that perception. She calmly outlined her approach, growing most animated when she confronted the prospect of the federal government imposing a carbon tax should a Tory government refuse.
“Justin Trudeau doesn’t tell us what to do in Ontario,” said Elliott. “We don’t need to tax people to be environmentally responsible.”
Tanya Granic Allen, who heads a group opposed to the curriculum and is pledging to give social conservatives a greater voice in the party, asserted her position most aggressively. Considered a long shot, also attacked Brown for allegedly stage-managing party-nomination elections, repeatedly calling his leadership “corrupt.”
There is just one more debate — Feb. 28 in Ottawa. Voting electronically begins March 2, and the new leader will be announced March 10.