Canadian voters are still trying to determine just who Andrew Scheer is since he won the Conservative leadership a few months ago.
That’s why looking at the people he selected for his shadow cabinet is so important; after all, you’re known by the company you keep.
READ MORE: Andrew Scheer unveils Conservative shadow cabinet
Of the 35 shadow cabinet positions, there was no room for either Brad Trost or Kellie Leitch, but since Scheer has ideas of winning the next election, leaving those two on the outside looking in makes political sense.
Even though Scheer and Trost share anti-abortion feelings, Scheer must realize, like his old boss Stephen Harper did, that there is no appetite to re-open that debate if they want to attract some of those undecided voters.
Then, there’s Kellie Leitch.
Time and space don’t allow us to chronicle the many ways that Leitch self-destructed during the leadership campaign, but her anti-Muslim rhetoric and her admiration for Donald Trump’s divisive political message made her a political pariah.
READ MORE: Scheer has a choice to make on the alt-right
Make no mistake about it, there is still a large contingent of right-of-centre conservatives on Scheer’s team, but given the outright rejection of Leitch’s ‘Trump-style’ politics, embracing the extreme right, or alt-right conservative movement, would be a huge political misstep.
As to whether Scheer’s strategy will work… only time will tell.
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