60 Edmontonians raise a glass with Mackay
Conservatives gather in U of A pub to get a closer look at leadership candidate
EDMONTON Edmontonians attending a meet-and-greet with Peter Mackay say they want to know more about all the leadership candidates before fully committing to anyone.
About 60 people packed into Dewey’s, the University of Alberta’s students’ union pub, on Wednesday for a chance to clink glasses with the leadership hopeful. A total of eight candidates are vying to replace Andrew Scheer as leader following a disappointing performance for the Tories during the October federal election.
The event was hosted by the University of Alberta Conservatives.
Ryan Beaupre, a 21-year-old philosophy student at the U of A, said he’s working out where he falls in the political spectrum and wanted to hear what Mackay had to say.
“I think it is quite likely Mackay is going to be our next prime minister,” he said. “That sounds like a reasonable thing for the future (so) I want to hear where he is as I’m trying to figure out my political opinions.”
He said he wants to see if Mac Kay is able to bring all conservatives under one tent while also making Alberta a top priority.
Shaye Smith, a 23-year-old petroleum engineering student, echoed what Beaupre had to say about wanting to learn more about all the candidates. She mentioned she attended a similar event with leadership rival Erin O’toole last week in Edmonton.
“I’m pretty new to the (Conservative) party so I’m learning a lot,” Smith said. “I’m here to learn about the different candidates. No matter what party you are with, you want someone strong and decisive.”
Aaron Ferrao, a 20-year-old accounting major, said he wasn’t entirely certain who he was going to support but was leaning more toward O’toole. He said he wants the next leader to be a principled conservative similar to Stephen Harper.
“No red Tories,” he said. “I saw (O’toole) speak here last week. I was pretty lukewarm on both of them before that but O’toole’s speech here went a long way.”
Not everyone was undecided. Carli Reid and her husband, Phil, have supported Mackay since his days as a Maritime MP with the
Harper government.
“He’s the first person I ever voted for,” she said. “It wasn’t just his riding that he looked out for, he looked out for all of Atlantic Canada. He brought a lot of good business contracts.”
Mackay and O’toole are also facing off against Marilyn Gladu, Rudy Husny, Jim Karahalios, Leslyn Lewis, Rick Peterson and Derek Sloan.
The next leader will be picked at a convention on June 27 in Toronto.