Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previous version.
In a rough start that seemed like an amateurish defense to the ‘tele-town hall,’ Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and his candidate moderator asked callers Marge and Sheila whether they knew they’d be speaking to O’Toole on Thursday night, after they’d each asked their question.
In the spring, as election buzz heated up and COVID-19 cases continued to climb in a third wave, Conservatives built a TV studio in a hotel ballroom in downtown Ottawa. They wanted to be ready to connect with Canadians virtually, should their leader not be able to hit the hustings.
However, on Thursday night, due to either technical difficulties or general awkwardness or perhaps both, it wasn’t until the third try, with caller Lori, that O’Toole got his answer.
“No,” she said, sounding mildly perplexed by the question. “You just called.”
Of the first seven days of the August campaign, Conservatives spent three in Ottawa, holding six one-hour-long town halls for individual provinces or regions, focused on the phone with cold calls, but also including opportunities to watch and weigh-in virtually.
Liberals and New Democrats wasted no time getting on the road for multiple announcements, photo ops and meet and greets a day, beaming the type of footage across the country that builds election excitement and shows off leaders as much as possible.
The thing is, it doesn’t matter that Marge, Sheila or Lori were cold-called by the Conservative party.
Journalists questioning the mechanics of the new campaign tool were more concerned about the vet process to get through and ask a question, not just join the event. The majority of questions accepted by the party were friendly to the leader. (Especially in the first events — tougher questions did surface as the events continued.)
The party would only say that moderators screen calls to make sure a variety of topics are addressed and to address any technical issues. (The latter of which was not always effective.)
Yet a bigger issue than the vet process: why isn’t O’Toole doing more in-person events? This is a leader who, one year after his election to the job, Canadians still don’t feel they know. A still-unknown leader up against now-veteran campaigners Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau, both known for their ability to bring energy to the campaign trail and main street effectively.
O’Toole spent three days of the first week in Ottawa and hit six provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) in the other four. Events were fewer and access was limited, compared to his rivals. Generally, O’Toole had an announcement in the morning, not open to the public, and one small, distanced rally for supporters in the evening.
The control factor was very high. Only one event (at an open food market in Quebec City) was truly open to the public, where just anyone could walk in and have a shot at a brief interaction with the leader.
Campaign reporters joked about being excited to hit the open road the first time the campaign left Ottawa, only to find we were leaving one empty hotel room to fly to another, in downtown Toronto, for the GST holiday announcement.
What makes the question of the virtual town hall even more interesting is the week one lesson learned: Erin O’Toole is a strong in-person campaigner.
The pandemic meant he hadn’t been able to flex his in-person muscles since he became leader. (Yes, that was just a set-up line to point out he flexed his actual muscles on the cover of his glossy Men’s Health magazine-style platform publication.)
But seen in the wild, O’Toole lacks the social awkwardness and awkward French of Andrew Scheer. He is much more present than Stephen Harper, who had no interest in the baby-kissing aspect of political life.
O’Toole may not have met many people face-to-face on the road in week one, but he actively listened to those he did. He gave thoughtful answers. He appeared equally comfortable connecting with kids in an Ottawa suburb, farmers in Saskatoon and clients of an addiction recovery program in B.C.’s lower mainland.
At rallies, he threw in ad libs to his speeches and never had his eyes glued to the teleprompter.
And a campaign bonus for the Conservatives: the O’Toole family. Wife Rebecca and kids Mollie and Jack joined for the Western part of the week. They appeared comfortable, natural and engaged at every appearance, during long days. Teen Mollie gravely nodded as her Dad repeated an oft-used line with a Delta, B.C., crowd: climate change is the number one issue they discuss together. Ten-year-old Jack appeared to love waving from the top of the stairs at the plane and brought a delightful energy.
At a media availability, I asked O’Toole whether he feels he connects as well virtually as in-person with voters. He didn’t answer me directly. He later offered more of an answer at multiple rallies: telling Richmond Hill, Ont., and Saskatoon supporters how much he prefers live events to virtual.
“I get to hear real applause, not emojis on my computer screen.”
Over the course of the week, when questioned about the strategy, O’Toole stressed a few times that his studio allows him to campaign safely during COVID, and he claims he’s spoken to more Canadians than any of the other leaders, with tens of thousands tuning in to his town halls. (Another question of metrics that was difficult to get straight answers about from the party.)
Speaking on background, two campaign officials stressed the same idea. By cold calling random numbers, they can reach many more kinds of voters than preaching to the converted at rallies that draw the party faithful. Cold calls can bring in undecided, on-the-fence, or open-minded voters, willing to hear from the Conservative leader.
O’Toole is trying to bill himself as a new kind of Conservative leader: one who is pro-choice, whose platform funds drug treatment programs and one who cares about affordable housing and climate change.
But in order to sell that plan to enough Canadians to broaden the Conservative tent with a shot at forming government, Erin O’Toole needs to reach more Canadians.
And the gamble of having more virtual events than the other guys has four more weeks to prove itself as either an innovative key to success or a wasted opportunity to show Canadians in-person and via enthusiastic images from the road who Erin O’Toole really is.
Abigail Bimman is a Global National correspondent in the Ottawa bureau, who travelled with Erin O’Toole and the Conservatives for the first week of the federal election campaign.
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