Hotly contested
MacKay shares thoughts on Conservative leadership race
Peter MacKay isn’t picking favourites when it comes to the Conservative leadership race.
“I’m staying neutral in the overall race. At least that’s my intention at this point,” the former Central Nova MP and cabinet minister said in a phone interview Monday.
Polls predicted MacKay would have been a top contender had he chosen to run for the leadership.
As nominations closed last week, however, his Twitter feed was filled with photos of him spending time with his young family rather than preparing for or participating in debates as other contenders were.
While he’s not in the race, MacKay said many of the candidates have come to him asking for advice because of his experience as a former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and cabinet minister for the Conservative Party.
He’s also attended events where several of the contenders have spoken.
He has an affinity for people with ties to his home province such as Lisa Raitt, who has Nova Scotia roots, and Erin O’Toole, who was posted to the RCAF 12 Wing in Shearwater for a time, he said and also likes Chris Alexander who he worked with in the Department of National Defence and Foreign Affairs. Over the years he’s worked with many of the other candidates as well, though, and said they all have strengths to offer.
“To have the number and quality of candidates is a very positive sign for the Conservative Party,” he said. “It’s going to be highly competitive to say the least.”
He said in some ways the larger pool of candidates makes the race more interesting. With a party that still has 100 seats in the House of Commons, he believes the Conservative Party has a real chance of regaining power in parliament in the next election.
“Whoever the next leader is will be vying for the prime minister’s chair,” he said. “That in and of itself makes it a hotly contested leadership.”
Issues that matter He cautions that candidates should be careful about the stands they take and refrain from alienating mainstream voters.
“I think they need to take a hard look at where the Conservative Party establishes itself as far as policy is concerned.”
He said the successful candidate shouldn’t be taking extreme positions that may seem attractive today, but will be unsellable to the general pubic. It’d be unwise, he says to have someone who could win the Conservative leadership but couldn’t win the general election.
If Conservatives want to regain power, MacKay believes they need to focus on the issues that matter to people. It’s what he describes as “back yard and back pocket” issues.
Style vs substance While MacKay said style may propel people forward in politics, alluding to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he said eventually people demand substance.
“When you take that type of soaring rhetoric campaign promising sunny skies and you get grey skies and stormy weather, people feel betrayed,” he said.
“Politics is about getting results – delivering programs and projects to your constituency. That’s the more important measure as opposed to giving the best speech at the UN or getting the most photos taken, or hugging the most pandas. That doesn’t help a struggling working family.”
The United States and Trump With President Donald Trump, MacKay said Canada needs someone who is a strong negotiator leading the country. For instance, he said the North American Free Trade Agreement is a serious concern. At first, Trump had said he would like to rip up the NAFTA agreement that allows for tariff-free trade among the United States, Mexico and Canada, but he is now saying he’d like to tweak it. MacKay said modernizing NAFTA isn’t a bad idea, but it’s important that Trump realize the importance of the Canada-US trade relations.
“These negotiations are going to be tough. They’re going to require a great deal of skill and diplomacy. We have to enter these negotiations clear-eyed and looking down the road as far as the Canadian economy is concerned.”
He said no substitute exists for tariff free access to the United States, and anything short of a continuation of NAFTA will be a catastrophe for the country.
MacKay believes it’s in the best interest of the U.S. as well. Canada takes in more goods from the U.S. than it exports. It’s up to Canada’s leaders to show Trump it’s a good deal and that “To make America great again, you have to make NAFTA great again.”