Peter MacKay may not be running to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, but that didn’t stop the former cabinet minister from expressing his opinion on this weekend’s edition of the West Block.
MacKay, who confirmed last week that he will not seek to replace former prime minister Stephen Harper, predicted that by the time the next tax cycle rolls around, Canadians will have become disillusioned with Justin Trudeau’s government.
“Frankly, having your picture taken with a panda or a rock star or whipping your shirt off is not really doing it for Canadians,” MacKay told Tom Clark, re-iterating that Conservatives need to focus on the economy.
In spite of MacKay’s criticism, Trudeau still enjoys a pretty favourable position among Canadians. A recent Angus Reid poll suggests 65 per cent of Canadians approve of Trudeau’s on-the-job performance, more than double the 30 per cent who disapprove.
Values debate ‘a real swamp of alligators’
Asked for his thoughts about a controversial stance on immigration taken by Conservative leadership hopeful Kellie Leitch, MacKay said it can be dangerous to wander too far into a debate about identity of so-called “Canadian values.”
READ MORE: Kellie Leitch pushes back against ‘politically correct elitism’ in values debate
Leitch has proposed having a discussion about more stringent screening of new arrivals to make sure they respect – among other things – equality of men and women, religious diversity and LGBT rights.
“You can find yourself in a real swamp of alligators and a lot of blowback … so you have to be thoughtful in the way you express those ideas,” MacKay said.
“I tend to believe that what we really need to try to do is bring the focus back to the issues that affect people’s backyards and back pockets … it’s not as sexy perhaps … but tax policy really at the end of the day matters to people.”
The former Progressive Conservative leader said he’s happy to share his political experience with anyone hoping to lead the Conservative party, and “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some expressions of disappointment” that he didn’t run.
“Look, I’m a Conservative first and foremost who will always be interested and involved in the party at some level,” he said.
Watch the full interview above, and check out the extended version below: