DEAR CONSERVATIVES, IT’S TIME TO HUG SOME REPORTERS

A sparse public schedule. Terse media availabilities. A dearth of interviews. Rallies limited to supporters. For a man purporting to do it “for the people,” Doug Ford didn’t bother doing it for too many people during his campaign.

Were Ford’s tactics that of the classic front-runner, or signs of a tour trying to manage its biggest liability? It doesn’t much matter now that the result is secured.

Irrespective of intent or outcome, there are lessons to be drawn for Conservatives as the Alberta and federal elections creep into view. Will Jason Kenney and Andrew Scheer seal themselves into tightly scripted campaign bubbles, or trust themselves to be disciplined while putting on a more vigorous public display?

It will almost certainly be the latter for Kenney, who has yet to find a microphone he can’t saddle up to and ride. The leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party is the prototypical “happy warrior,” his recent intemperate quip about Trudeau notwithstanding. And he’s whip-smart, too; no cheeky reporter will be asking him how a bill becomes a law, lest they want a 1,500-word treatise (replete with citations) in response.

Scheer’s style is more of an open question, but the early returns are good. His temperament is calm by default. He, too, knows the business of government. The federal Conservative leader might not enjoy the press, but he knows it’s part of the game. A fair hearing with Ottawa’s press corps can’t happen without first having a relationship, and Scheer is building one.

Between the two, Kenney has more leeway to play it safe with media, given Alberta’s long history of Conservative government and the tough mix of issues facing Rachel Notley and her rookie NDP government. But having spent some time in his (indirect) service, I’d be stunned if Kenney isn’t planning a full-court press. It will be good for Scheer to see, if only to know that it can (and should) be done, so deeply ingrained is the Conservative paranoia about the press.

The goal of reaching out is never to please the press, but public service is a land of give and take. If Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau are to ultimately go down, it will be partly at the hands of the press, and someone will need to be in the media’s ears with an alternative.

This is usually the point where more combustible conservatives erupt about the L/ liberal press being in the tank for L/ liberals and it’s all a waste of time. It’s better to cut the bastards out and go directly to the people, etc. But guess what? Justin Trudeau can go directly to waaaay more people than Andrew Scheer can. If someone is going to harness the masses sans the bastards of the press, it will be our social prime minister.

At last count, Trudeau’s Facebook page has 6.1 million ‘likes.’ The Trudeau Twitter account has 4.2 million followers. How about boring old LinkedIn? 2.4 million. Instagram? 2.2 million. That’s reach. Scheer is a dinosaur in comparison, a T-Rex.

Nor are the Conservatives likely to catch up to Trudeau’s owned channel numbers ahead of the vote. Scheer is a lovely man, but he’s not blessed with the genetics to compete on Trudeau’s home turf. There’s not enough dad-joke or dad-bod sizzle in the world (or Maggie Thatcher socks, for that matter) to make up the difference.

One area Conservatives still have the numerical advantage is the number of donors and amount of donations. But all parties will spend the max during the campaign, so there’s little advantage to be gained by having gobs more money on hand, especially with the Trudeau government’s self-serving changes to the Elections Act that clamp down on pre-writ spending.

The unrelenting focus on fundraising limits the Conservatives’ public discourse. Speaking about issues the base likes, in a manner the base appreciates, isn’t a good recipe for broader success. Conservatives need to stop viewing their base as a ceiling, and instead see them as the floor where they can set up shop to bring more people into the fold.

A more proactive Conservative party might even find itself pushing on an open door. Journalists like one thing above all else: a good story. And Andrew Scheer pegging back the un-pegbackable Justin Trudeau would be a screamer.

Back to the numbers game. They might be shrinking like bollocks in a frigid lake, but journalists still have audiences. And with all of the recent reports of foreign interference and other stupidity on Facebook and other social channels, people might be in the mood to retreat to mainstream sources for information in the next election.

All the more reason, then, to hustle that earned media. A Fordian bubble ain’t gonna cut it; it’s time to hug some reporters.

FRANK GUNN/THE CANADIAN PRESS Doug Ford’s campaign often purposely limited rallies to supporters and avoided media interviews, despite the fact Ford described himself as a candidate doing it “for the people.”