Five federal Conservative leadership hopefuls pitched to a crowd of Nova Scotia Tories on Saturday, each hoping to hit a home run in the race to replace Andrew Scheer.
The leadership forum took place at the Nova Scotia PC Party’s annual general meeting, attended by more than 500 people over the course of the weekend.
Prospective candidates Peter MacKay, Marilyn Gladu, Rick Peterson, Rudy Husny and Erin O’Toole all declared early their intention to broaden the party’s tent by protecting abortion and LGBTQ2 rights. Those who weren’t fluently bilingual also made efforts to woo the crowd in French, demonstrating their commitment to appeal to all Canadians.
“We’re a bilingual nation, and it’s not just the ability to speak perfect French with perfect grammar, it’s more so about the ideas, the vision, the policy, the change,” MacKay said in an interview.
“I think it is about experience and the ability to walk into the House of Commons on day one and take on the prime minister.”
MacKay, who has previously taken flack for his lack of fluency in the language, is widely considered the frontrunner in the race. The former Harper-era cabinet minister and Nova Scotia MP is one of only two prospective candidates that has, to date, met the initial fundraising and signature requirements to enter the race.
The other is Durham, Ont., MP Erin O’Toole, who was defeated by Scheer in the last Tory leadership campaign.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia Opposition leader ‘hopeful’ Peter MacKay runs for federal Conservatives
“I had only been in politics three and a half years when I started last time, and I met so many people, I learned so much about the country, so we’ve got an amazing team from coast to coast and that I think is my real strength this time,” O’Toole told Global News in an interview after the forum.
The leadership hopefuls covered a wide range of topics in their speeches, promising to bolster Canada’s natural resource development with support for pipelines and the forestry industry, while presenting a stronger climate plan than their predecessor.
“We need to have a credible climate change plan,” said Gladu, MP for Sarnia-Lambton and a shadow minister for health. “Clearly it didn’t resonate in the last election.”
Rudy Husny, a longtime Quebec operative for the Tories, said he’d like to see less paperwork in the federal government, particularly when it comes to passport renewal.
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“We have to make sure we have strong cybersecurity at the same time as we have smart, 21st-century e-government,” he told an applauding crowd.
All but Husny touted various connections to Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, including O’Toole, who served in the military in Nova Scotia and has a law degree from Dalhousie University; Gladu, who has family in the province; and Peterson, an Alberta businessman whose firm has supported the development of several companies in the Maritimes.
“My vision as the leader of the party and as the next Conservative prime minister is to make Canada the most boldest, most disruptive place on Earth, and Atlantic Canada to be the boldest, leading place to invest in Canada,” he said.
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The deadline to meet all the initial applicant requirements for the race is Feb. 27, but in order to have their names on the ballot in June, each candidate must rake in at least $300,000 in support and 3,000 signatures.
But MacKay, Gladu, Peterson, Husny and O’Toole weren’t the only ones campaigning over the weekend.
During his keynote speech on Friday, Nova Scotia PC leader Tim Houston promised to see Premier Stephen McNeil “set sail” into the sunset in the next provincial election, likely to be called sometime next year.
Houston slammed McNeil’s $20-million investment in the Yarmouth-to-Maine ferry that failed to sail this year and accused him of failing to meet a campaign promise to ensure each Nova Scotian has a doctor. He promised to revitalize health care in the province by “modernizing medicine.”
“You don’t have to go to the bank to bank, you don’t have to go to the store to shop. Why is it that this government thinks the only way you can access health care is to walk through a door?” Houston asked a cheering crowd.
“Here’s an idea. Health care from home. You phone in, explain your symptoms and are triaged. From there you’re instantly connected to a doctor, a nurse practitioner, a pharmacist — whatever the case may be — all on your phone, your iPad or computer.”
The Nova Scotia PC party’s AGM will wrap on Sunday.
With files from The Canadian Press
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