Beyond local: Conservative leadership candidates prepare for Edmonton debate


Six candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada are in Alberta today preparing for tonight’s debate in Edmonton.

EDMONTON — Six candidates vying to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada will gather on stage tonight for the first of two official debates.

The event in Edmonton comes less than a week after five of the six contenders put on a spirited performance during an unofficial debate in Ottawa, where much attention was paid to the fight against COVID-19 mandates and the recent protest of the convoy in the streets around Parliament Hill. .

Tonight, candidates will answer questions on topics such as the future of energy, the environment, law and order, the cost of living, and the North.

This debate will feature Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ontario, whose campaign said he chose to sell party memberships last week rather than attend the Ottawa event.

His opponents include MP Pierre Poilievre, whom Brown recently criticized for offering what he called “outlandish investment advice” for saying that the cryptocurrency Bitcoin was a solution to inflation.

Poilievre also found himself on the defensive last week against fellow MP Leslyn Lewis, who criticized him for the genuineness of his support for anti-pandemic mandates, as well as his position on conservative social issues.

Lewis, who opposes abortion, came third in the party’s 2020 leadership race and once again enjoys considerable backing from groups who believe in restricting access to the procedure.

That issue has resurfaced in light of a recently leaked draft opinion from the US Supreme Court, which suggests it may strike down a national law protecting abortion rights in that country.

The anti-abortion organization Campaign Life Coalition held a news conference outside Canada’s Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, where Jack Fonseca, its director of political operations, singled out Lewis as the only anti-abortion candidate in the race.

He said she is offering “common sense” policies, such as banning so-called sex-selective abortions and promising to protect women from being forced to undergo the procedure.

Liberal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos also announced that Ottawa would provide $3.5 million in funding for projects that promise to make abortion easier in Canada.

The debate will also include former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who launched his leadership bid in Calgary in March and casts himself as the serious national leader the party needs to defeat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

BC MP Ed Fast, who co-chairs his campaign, recently called Charest the loser of the race because he has been out of federal politics for nearly 25 years.

Another self-proclaimed underdog is Roman Baber, the independent Ontario MPP whom Doug Ford kicked out of his Progressive Conservative caucus in early 2021 for opposing a provincial lockdown that was put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Before Wednesday’s event, Baber released a statement announcing that he would eliminate the equalization, which is a program that gives federal revenues to provinces that have a lower-than-average fiscal capacity to pay for services. He is deeply unpopular with conservatives in Alberta. He also promised to give Canadians a reduction in income tax.

During last week’s debate, rural Ontario MP Scott Aitchison called on his fellow candidates to improve their behavior, saying their personal attacks on one another were a turnoff for people considering voting Conservative.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 11, 2022

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press




Reference-www.rmotoday.com

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