Politics Insider for Nov 16, 2021: Opponents Move Against Kenney and O’Toole; Alberta has a child care plan; and Harper launches an investment fund
Determined internal opponents moved against both Erin O’Toole and Jason kenney on Monday, questioning the continued leadership of both politicians.
Global’s Alex Boutilier reports that an anti-O’Toole petition launched Monday by Senator Denise Batters It is not an independent gesture, but will be part of a “campaign that includes deputies and senators, as well as current and former party officials.”
“This is part of a multi-step campaign. This will play out over the next three months, actually over the next six months, ”said a Conservative MP, who agreed to speak to Global News on the condition that he not be named. A second source corroborated the MP’s account. Both sources said conservative activists are expected to publicly back the petition in the near future.
The anonymous MP said that “a significant number of caucus members, as well as past and current horse presidents, and horseback officials across the country, as well as former national councilors,” have signed on to get rid of the leader.
Kenney challenged: Meanwhile, in Alberta, at least 22 UCP riding associations have passed a motion calling for an early leadership review for Kenney, the Balloon reports.
The disgruntled local executives argued in a letter to the president of the UCP Ryan becker that because at least a quarter of the associations approved the motion, cleared the necessary threshold so that the party responds to their demands. The motion calls for a special general meeting, where members can vote on the leadership review remotely. Alberta Premier Jason kenney quelled a caucus uprising in September by accepting a leadership review in April; that vote will take place at an annual meeting earlier than expected, which means that members must be present to cast their vote.
“We are asking, even demanding, that it be a member, a vote. Not just the people who can appear in the meeting ” Samantha steinkethe president of the Central Peace-Notley electoral association told reporters.
Child care offer: On the same day that a large part of his party launched a leadership challenge, Kenney appeared with Justin trudeau for an announcement of a child care agreement, the Edmonton Journal reports.
Good morning to JT: At Star, Susan delacourt ponder the events of the day and notes that Trudeau looks good, at least compared to O’Toole and Kenney, who, he reminds us, are allies.
Just days before the September election, Kenney emerged with the reintroduction of strict COVID-19 protocols in Alberta, to halt an increase caused by a decline too early in the summer. Within minutes, the Trudeau Liberals were delighted to reissue a video clip of O’Toole praising Kenney’s COVID-19 management. O’Toole quickly went to the ground, stopped doing media interviews, and the rest, as they say, is history. Then For better or for worse, the fate of these two conservative leaders seems to rise and fall at the same time, and Monday was another installment in the saga, on the downward slope. However, it raises the question of what has soured the Conservatives in two politicians who once considered themselves saviors of the party, in their own way and together.
Condemned: At Hill times, Michael Harris is canceling O’Toole.
That is the profound failure of Erin O’Toole’s leadership. It’s one thing to go down fighting the good fight for your beliefs. You get up, dust yourself off and wait for the next fight. You still have your beliefs intact. It’s a very different thing to unilaterally swap core conservative positions for a more progressive agenda, as O’Toole did in the last election, all because you think it’s the secret sauce to winning. That leaves the base confused. If you lose, as the CPC did, the confusion eventually turns to anger. At the heart of the anger is the suspicion that it was because he abandoned the conservative values that he lost.
Doing well: At Star, Jamie watts evaluates O’Toole’s management of the anti-vax caucus eruption and This impressed O.O.
Looking at this dilemma O’Toole acted with a calm and controlled authority that once again demonstrated his mastery of his role.. It says a lot that most of his response took place behind the scenes, with the leader stepping in publicly enough to make his views known. No bombast, just a firm and heartfelt condemnation of vaccine skepticism and an even stronger sign that it has no place in your shadow cabinet. What’s more, the response was smart and wise enough to avoid giving his potential leadership challengers more oxygen.
Partisan employee? Conservatives and the NDP are calling on the Liberal government to publish emails and text messages between the party and the Secretary of the Commons Charles Robert, who is accused of acting as a liberal supporter, reports CBC.
CBC News reported last week that Robert faces allegations that he made partisan comments and shared confidential information with liberals that could have given the party a strategic advantage over the opposition in the House. The deputy director of the Conservatives, Candice Bergen, called the accusations “deeply disturbing.”
Harper Fund: Stephen Harper is partnering with the American businessman Courtney R. Mather to launch an investment fund, reports Bloomberg.
Vision One plans to bet on undervalued midsize public companies and try to create value through governance improvements and other changes, the person said. The firm will target companies with market values of $ 2 billion to $ 10 billion, especially in the industrial and consumer sectors, the person said. Mather and Harper did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mather worked on billionaire By Carl Icahn He signed between 2014 and 2020 and served on the boards of companies such as Caesars Entertainment Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Newell Brands Inc. and Cheniere Energy Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Icahn was an adviser to Donald Trump until he resigned amid high profile New Yorker investigation.
– Stephen Maher
Reference-www.macleans.ca