Courting Conservatives
Conservative leadership candidates make their pitches to party faithful during fundraising luncheon in Charlottetown
Some Island Conservative heard pitches from five of their party’s leadership candidates during a luncheon in Charlottetown Friday afternoon.
Michael Chong tried to make the pitch that he was the only one of the 13 leadership candidates who has a chance of beating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the next election.
“What poll after poll shows is that I’m the candidate in the race with the most appeal to broad mainstream voters,” he said.
Conservative party members will vote for their next leader on May 27 using ranked ballots.
That means members can list candidates in their order of preference.
It was something Lisa Raitt acknowledged as she asked members who already made their first choice to list her as their second choice.
In making her pitch for votes in the region, Raitt, who grew up in Cape Breton, said the party needs someone who understands what it’s like to struggle in Atlantic Canada and the opportunities that are there.
“I know that Ottawa doesn’t know best,” she said.
One of the questions the candidates were asked was what they would do to get Conservative candidates elected in Atlantic Canada in the next election.
Erin O’Toole said the real disappointment on election night in 2015 was the lack of seats for the Conservatives in Atlantic Canada.
O’Toole said he would make Atlantic Canada the first step in rebuilding the party and he would work to earn back voters’ trust.
“That’s what we have to do,” he said.
Several of the candidates talked about losing the millennial vote in the last election.
Kellie Leitch acknowledged two of the demographics whose votes the party lost and needed to regain.
“We lost millennials but, more importantly, we lost women,” she said.
Andrew Saxton also said the party needs a social media strategy and to go where young people get their information.
“Young Canadians don’t read the newspaper any more,” he said.