National Post (National Edition)
CONSERVATIVES TURN ON THEIR OWN
Among the six candidates for the Conservative leadership, Scott Aitchison stands out as a lonely voice of civility. Aitchison spent much of the first candidates' debate — for which only five of the six turned up — pleading with the others to quit hurling abuse at one another.
“Here we are, calling each other names,” he lamented at one point. “We've got to stop demonizing one another,” he protested at another. A successful party needs to “lead with respect,” he urged in another attempt. “Until we can work together as a team, Canadians are not going to trust us . ... What Canadian is going to trust this lot?” he said in exasperation amid the litany of insults and accusations flying around the stage.
It didn't get him very far. Rival candidate Leslyn Lewis, standing at the next microphone, berated Aitchison for identifying her as a conspiracy theorist, which he hadn't done. Lewis also took on presumed front-runner Pierre Poilievre over who was a more eager supporter of the trucker convoy that brought Ottawa to a standstill for three weeks.
One of the questions tossed to candidates was little more than an open invite to criticize Patrick Brown — the one who hadn't turned up — because “some Canadians are concerned that Mayor Brown is sowing division in our country.” Poilievre obliged, gleefully denouncing Brown.
Poilievre really found his groove when he turned on former Quebec premier Jean Charest, however. “The average trucker has more integrity in his pinky finger than you had in your entire scandal-plagued Liberal cabinet,” he snarled in a fierce back-and-forth that seemed to awaken Charest to just how brutal his fellow Tories were willing to get with one another.
It was Charest who noted, more than once, that while the party won the popular vote in the two most recent elections, it held just four seats out of 53 in the Greater Toronto Area. Failure to better that total was a sure way to ensure the Liberal government remains in power for a good long time, he noted, and positioning Conservatives as a fan base for rampaging truckers wasn't likely to do the trick.
Poilievre, who gave every indication that he holds Charest in the utmost contempt, took the opportunity to point out that he'd won seven consecutive elections in an urban Ottawa riding, apparently as evidence that he can win over the rest of the province, as well.
It's a curious boast to make, given that it underlines the fact that Poilievre, who entered the House of Commons just a titch after his 25th birthday, has spent almost his entire adult life as a professional politician, having devoted even less time than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accumulating the sort of life experience one might consider helpful for anyone aiming to run a country.
Aitchison also has a lengthy record in politics, though he spent most of his career as a municipal councillor, serving as mayor of Huntsville, Ont., for five years before running for Parliament in 2019. Huntsville is a pleasant place a couple of hours drive north of Toronto in cottage country. It's the sort of community you can imagine it's a good idea to get along with your neighbours, where co-operation works better than confrontation.
Perhaps that's why Aitchison, with just 30 months in Ottawa, hasn't absorbed the full acidity of the place or developed the sort of caustic tactics that were on display for the debate. A former realtor and sales manager, he was unimpressed with the candidates' first confrontation, tweeting the next day: “Yesterday's debate was embarrassing for our party. The fighting, yelling and screaming. The partisan cheap shots at fellow Conservatives. We will never win another election if this is how we talk to each other and Canadians.”
That view appears to be shared in other important corners of the party. Prior to the debate, party elder Preston Manning issued a letter urging candidates to “stay away from the personal attacks that only poison the party well and reinforce the public's negative perception of party politics.” When it was over, he said, “I worry about the internal competition getting too personal. I'd like to see them stick to the principles and policies.”
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, under assault himself from angry elements of the party he created, noted: “My advice to all of the candidates would be to remember ... whoever wins, you've got to unite the party at the end of it, and try and be respectful.”
Patrick Brown gloated that he'd made the right decision in staying away. “After watching the debate, I can't help but wonder: how can any of these candidates expect to unite our party and expand our Conservative coalition if they're already adopting a scorched earth approach?” A column in the Toronto Sun, a conservative voice if there ever was one, suggested that Aitchison “seemed out of place calling for respect, leadership and unity in the race.”
It remains to be seen whether there's a power on earth capable of preventing Poilievre from firing off insults and accusations at anyone he deems insufficiently dedicated to his aims, beliefs and intentions. He's very good at it, if you count the dissemination of concentrated vitriol a skill.
(AITCHISON'S) VIEW APPEARS TO BE SHARED IN OTHER IMPORTANT CORNERS OF THE PARTY.