Political insider for February 3: Erin O’Toole is ousted; Pierre Poilievre is the heir apparent; Ottawa Police Consider Deploying Military Against Truckers
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O’Toole exit, right stage: In Maclean’s, paul wells note that Erin O’Toole, whose match disturbed him on Wednesday, was perhaps too brazen. “Running against carbon taxes and then proposing carbon taxes while pretending you aren’t is not a way to build trust.”
What will come next? Probably some kind of arrangement with the growing Trump wing of the party.
In 2015, a senior Harper Conservative told me, unsurprisingly, that Canadian Conservatives had elaborate and productive relationships with Conservative parties in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. They exchanged low-level and sometimes higher-level personnel. They would copy each other’s ads. They would exchange information technology. But the Canadian Conservatives, this person told me, had less and less to do with the American Republicans, because that party was becoming “weird” and had little, in doctrine or technique, that could be useful in the Canadian context.
That the firewall has collapsed. People who donate to the Conservative Party of Canada and volunteer watch Fox News and read Facebook. Donald Trump’s endorsement of a so-called “trucker convoy” inspired by the Capital Hill riots of January 6, 2020 was a really exciting moment for many people in the conservative movement today. Including, I’m quite sure, a part of the party’s national caucus.
Powder keg party: At Balloonveteran columnist Lawrence Martin suggests the Conservatives may end up being led by pierre polièvre.
The actions and trade of the far right are visceral anger. If O’Toole’s ouster consolidates his control, unlike the center right, it will have the effect of further polarizing the country, degrading dialogue, pitting region against region. On the question of leadership, Pierre Poilievre is one of clock. He is a highly eloquent, gifted politician, more capable than anyone else in Ottawa of organizing arguments with precision and power. He is also underhanded and unscrupulous, a polarizer who will fall as low as a crocodile if it suits your needs.
Horribly flawed: Chris Selley has a fun column at Mail predict that the upcoming leadership race will be a disaster.
It was the “truly blue” faction of the party that led the successful calls for O’Toole’s removal, but that faction stops short of installing the next leader. The winner of the next race will once again be the person who can best keep conservative- and reform-minded voters in the middle of the road while their top choices are eliminated. (Twelve percent of first ballot voters in the 2020 race declined to cast a third ballot.) the incentive to mislead those voters remains – in fact, it is likely to be stronger, because the chances of the Liberals defeating each other between now and the next election are greater than last time.
The race is in: zip has a summary of possible replacements for O’Toole and a good summary of the day’s CPC leadership events.
After ousting O’Toole at a Wednesday morning caucus meeting, O’Toole issued a funny concession video. The deputies met again on Wednesday night to choose an interim leader, candace bergenCTV reports. Bergen, who was deputy leader under O’Toole, represents Portage-Lisgar in Manitoba. She is the party’s third female leader, following in the footsteps of kim campbell Y rona ambrose. He reportedly outvoted the New Brunswick MP. John Williamson for the position of interim leader. she recently defended the protesters against the mandate and has previously been criticized for using the wizard hat.
TO video of her defending protesters and attacking Trudeau recently went viral internationally.
Cheese: After the caucus meeting, several parliamentarians from Saskatchewan showed up to take a photo with the protesters besieging the city, that the mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson found disappointing.
army time? Previously Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly told city councilors that the security situation is serious enough that it is necessary to call in the military, the Balloon reports.
Peter Sloly said the Ottawa police force is considering options ranging from a negotiated resolution to execution. But he warned that any option carries risks. Chief Sloly said that there are only two occasions that he is aware of in the last 100 years, the Oka and FLQ crises, when the military got mixed up with the police. “This It is not a decision to be taken lightly.,” he said. “I repeat as I said before, all options are being looked at. None of the options create a beautiful, elegant, simple and secure solution. They all come with massive risks.” Chief Sloly also said his service is aware of one significant element of the United States who has been involved in funding, organizing, and rallying that took place on Parliament Hill and surrounding streets. He also said that more protesters plan to arrive in the city over the weekend.
Coutts deal? Meanwhile, in Alberta, protesters at an illegal border blockade cleared two lanes, allowing traffic to move, apparently after negotiations, the Calgary Herald reports.
The lockdown, now in its fifth day, is a protest against COVID-19 health measures. The last trucks blocking Highway 4 had moved by 2:30 p.m. and traffic was able to continue through the open lanes, although a long line of vehicles remained pointed toward the port of entry. Chad Williamson, a Calgary attorney hired by the protesters, said the protesters talked to the Mounties and agreed to open two blocked lanes. A live video posted on Facebook by one of the protesters shows participants voting to open the lanes. In the video, a speaker says that they are opening the lanes with the understanding that the province has agreed to terminate (some restrictions). He says that if this does not happen, the protesters will resume the blockade. In a statement, the chairman of the United Conservative Party caucus Nathan Neudorf said such an agreement has not been authorized.
Addressed to Québec: In Quebec City, police began blocking streets in preparation for a protest there, CBC reports.
and Toronto: Toronto police prepare for a protest there, CTV reports.
Don’t fund me: The online fundraising page for protesters has been shut down, CBC reportsbut GoFundMe doesn’t say what will happen to the $10 million raised so far, much of which appears to come from outside Canada.
— Stephen Maher