O’toole distancing himself from Mackay, Scheer
CALGARY — In a speech before Conservative faithful in Calgary Monday evening, just hours after he kicked off his campaign to lead the party, Erin O’toole tried to paint himself as the candidate who is neither Peter Mackay or Andrew Scheer, imploring the crowd to back him as the man who could lead the party back into power in Ottawa.
Held at a luxurious and exclusive private club in downtown Calgary, in his speech, O’toole rattled off several ideas baked into the conservative canon: a strong military, opposition to the carbon tax, nostalgia for the years when Stephen Harper was prime minister and a distaste for the policies of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
“People are losing their jobs. People are losing their homes. People are losing hope,” said O’toole. “And what have we been doing? Fighting amongst ourselves, at times, instead of taking the fight where we need to — to defeating Justin Trudeau.”
The event, held in a rather resplendent burgundy and wood-panelled room, featuring portraits of the moustachioed founders of The Ranchmen’s Club, saw some 150 people show up to hear O’toole speak. Before O’toole took to the lectern, those in the crowd chatted, some mulling over O’toole versus Mackay, sipping on $9.50 import beers and $10 glasses of wine, and nibbling at a vast array of cheeses set out in the centre of the room. (Some, it appeared, were in flagrant violation of the strict dress code, while others had their furs and black suits; the dazzling array of outfits one sees among events featuring the well-heeled.)
Moving in between English and French — “I speak like a soldier, not a diplomat” — he said he will respect all conservatives and work together and build a positive, conservative vision of Canada.
“We spend too much time talking about the country that we don’t want to see. It’s time that we start talking about being for a strong and united Canada and only our strong conservative principles can make that happen,” said O’toole.
O’toole, laying out his attack lines early, also moved quickly to paint Mackay, a former Nova Scotia member of Parliament and O’toole’s main opponent, as a person who would drag the Conservative party towards the Liberals.
“No thanks!” quipped someone in the crowd, to laughs.
And, in response to an audience member’s question after his 10-minute speech, O’toole said he would march in a Pride parade — an issue that, along with a host of other socially conservative issues, has dogged Scheer throughout his tenure as leader of the party. It’s a tough balance, the questioner said, to hold together a big tent party without alienating progressive conservatives and social conservatives.
For O’toole, it’s about respect, he said, saying Stephen Harper showed how to do this.
“There are no albatrosses in my Conservative party. On the parade issue, as someone that served in uniform alongside members of the Canadian Armed Forces that may have been members of the LGBT community, they stood up for this country and if I can do something in a way that’s appropriate, not part of a political agenda … I will show up to show that I stand up for rights. I wore a uniform doing that.”