Conservatives don’t need to win power

Pierre Trudeau, for all his faults, was a leader. He pulled voters to his way of thinking. Brian Mulroney, though often an opportunist, was somewhat of a leader, taking principled and unpopular stands with the GST and free trade (which, for you young readers, used to be controversial) and selling them on their merits. Preston Manning was a leader when he was on his favourite themes of fighting the deficit and debt, advocating Senate reform or standing up to Quebec. Manning didn’t gain power, yet he was so persuasive at arguing the need to curb spending and control interest costs that the Chrétien- Martin Liberals had no choice but to adopt his policies in the mid- 1990s. Manning and Stephen Harper also spent years pushing a harder federal line to prepare for the next referendum on Quebec separation, with eventual success.

Therein lies an important lesson for Conservative party members who will select a leader in the coming months: be less concerned between now and the next election about forming government and more interested in exercising influence, in changing the direction of the country’s political discussion. The NDP has never formed the government of Canada, yet nearly everything in its platform from the 1960s has been implemented. That’s influence!

… The NDP has succeeded by doing the hard work of selling its misbegotten ideas through repetition and conviction over a long period of time. Which party forms government matters a lot to career politicians, but it shouldn’t matter so much to the rank- and- file. What should is the long- term impact of the leader they select. A “safe” leader who won’t spin the dial even if elected is worse than a bold leader who moves the needle in opposition. A party that is not lucky enough to be a country’s default ruling organization should choose substance over electability every time.