Conservatives dig deep into policy

LEADERSHIP DEBATE

OTTAWA • Candidates for leadership of the federal Conservative party went four rounds Friday in a debate aimed at providing an opportunity for a deep dive into policy.

But the cut and thrust of politics remained on display even as the format of having 14 people on stage at once was dissolved into smaller groups of candidates debating specific policy themes, one group at a time.

The debate at the Manning Conference saw the contenders appear before a crowd of the conservative movement's most ardent advocates and activists, self-described politics junkies eager to shell out the cash to spend a weekend debating ideology and brushing up on political marketing targets.

So when Deepak Obhrai lashed out at Kevin O'Leary's apparent lack of knowledge over how transfer payments are doled out to the provinces, cheering ensured.

“Mr. O'Leary, you need to know the Constitution of Canada,” Obhrai said.

And equally raucous boos greeted candidate Michael Chong's defence of a carbon tax for environment policy, a controversial position within party circles.

Proving their conservative credentials was key to the candidates and O'Leary — who many have grumbled isn't a true conservative — made sure to invoke the name of a conservative many hold dear, Sir John A. Macdonald. He likened his railways to today's pipelines.

But O'Leary took punches for how much time he's spent outside the country; members of Lisa Raitt's team paraded a figure with O'Leary's face in an Uncle Sam outfit around the lobby ahead of the debate.

O'Leary wasn't the only focus for criticism.

In a group made up of Erin O'Toole, Chris Alexander, Andrew Saxton and Kellie Leitch, Leitch became the target.

While her policies on screening immigrants for “Canadian values” have been a controversial part of the leadership contest, her rivals pounced on her in a debate on health policy.

O'Toole pressed her on why she hadn't put out a plan, Leitch replied that she's done a ton of research and that her experience at business school and as a physician make her uniquely qualified to put forward ideas. Alexander scoffed.

“I think the problems are not too difficult for mere mortals to understand,” he said, to cheers.

Some seemed concerned the party is risking its appeal to the broader Canadian population. Brad Trost noted new immigrants are among the most conservative groups in the country. Added Obhrai: “How did we get into 2011 majority government? Very simple, folks. We worked hard to build a big, blue tent."