NEW CONSERVATIVE LEADER ERIN O’TOOLE USED HIS FIRST SPEECH TO HIS PARTY’S CAUCUS ON WEDNESDAY TO DECLARE THAT THEY WILL BE AN INTELLIGENT, COMPASSIONATE ALTERNATIVE TO JUSTIN TRUDEAU’S LIBERALS.
Trudeau divided the country, O’Toole says
New Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole used his first speech to his party's caucus on Wednesday to declare that they will be an intelligent, compassionate alternative to Justin Trudeau's Liberals, and drew on the lessons of Canada's history all the way back to Louis Riel to show what happens when the country is divided.
O'Toole argued that Trudeau created deep problems in Canada even before the pandemic hit, and pledged that the Conservatives will show they are ready now to govern the country.
“We must show Canadians that we have a plan to get our country back on track,” O'Toole told his MPs. “We must restore hope. Canadians haven't always seen themselves in our party. We're going to change that. They will see themselves reflected in the Conservative Party of Canada. And they will see our caucus as a serious, intelligent, compassionate and ethical government in waiting.”
The speech began with a message of unity for the Conservatives, then slammed Trudeau's record of managing the economy, and ended with a lengthy discussion of Riel, John A. Macdonald, and how Canada's past must not be “cancelled,” but instead used to inform debates about the future.
It was O'Toole's first address to his party's caucus since being elected leader on Aug. 23, and it was also the first time the caucus has met in Ottawa since the pandemic lockdowns began in March.
O'Toole said he'd dropped off his daughter at high school that morning, calling it an example of how Canadians are starting to reunite after many difficult months during the pandemic.
“We are coming together again,” he said, referring to the MPs in the room, many of whom had endorsed his leadership rival Peter MacKay. “And we are stronger and more united than ever before.”
O'Toole's speech argued that Trudeau had stoked divisions in Canada well before the COVID-19 crisis, citing office towers standing empty in Calgary and the rail blockades that had dominated the news in February.
“It would have been difficult enough to guide our country through this pandemic and rebuild if we had entered the crisis united and with a strong economy,” O'Toole said. “Instead, we entered the pandemic divided, disrespected and indebted.”
He then transitioned into a discussion about historical figures and how controversies around them can provide lessons for today, as opposed to tearing down their monuments or removing their names from buildings.
O'Toole noted his speech was taking place in the Sir John A. Macdonald building in downtown Ottawa, calling Macdonald “the founder of this party, the founder of this country.”
“Senator Murray Sinclair, the former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has called the tearing down of statues counterproductive to reconciliation,” O'Toole said. “He instead suggested placing plaques beside statues to tell a more balanced story about Canada. Perhaps we should do that next to the Langevin building. Perhaps we should do that next to the Trudeau International Airport.”
(In 2017, the Liberals renamed Langevin Block, the building where the Prime Minister's Office is housed, after controversy around Hector Langevin's role in creating the residential schools system. The building is now called the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council.)
O'Toole brought up Riel, calling him “one of the most debated people in Canadian history,” and used him as an example of how the past can be an instructive example.
“Riel has been called the father of Manitoba, a warrior for Métis and Indigenous rights and culture, a Francophone folk hero, a thrice elected member of Parliament,” O'Toole said. “He's also been called a traitor.”
Both Macdonald and Riel made “good and bad choices,” O'Toole said, and the history books should scrutinize them carefully.
“But theirs is also a story of what happens when Canada is divided, when Western alienation takes root, and people feel ignored by a distant government in Ottawa who does not try to understand the fears and desires of thousands of people miles away,” he continued.
“This is why we must never erase their stories by tearing them down. Cancel culture dooms us to forget the lessons from these stories. It also ignores the incredible progress and resilience of Canada.”
As he wrapped up, O'Toole echoed the words he'd said in the middle of the night after being elected leader.
“Good morning again, Canada,” he said. “I'm Erin O'Toole from Bowmanville, Ontario. I'm proud of my country. And I'm very proud of this team in front of them. We are here to fight for you. And I'm asking you to take a look at the Conservative Party of Canada.”