The Conservative Party of Canada should not abandon its values, but it should present a positive vision for voters in the next federal election, said a Saskatchewan MP vying for party leadership.
“I believe that in everything we do, everything that we believe and everything we speak to, every time we speak to Canadians we have to be doing it in a way that doesn’t seem divisive and doesn’t seem like we’re playing one group of Canadians off another,” said Andrew Scheer, MP for Regina-Qu’Appelle.
Scheer, who was in Okotoks on Friday, is one of 12 looking to replace former prime minister Stephen Harper at the head of the party after it lost the 2015 federal election.
Scheer, 37, was born in Ottawa and moved to Regina after he met his wife in college.
He was first elected in 2004 and served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015. He was the youngest person ever appointed to the position at the age of 32.
Scheer said the Conservatives don’t need to change their policies, but he would change the way the party gets its message out.
“There was a negative connotation in the last election, the tone and the style that we used I believe resulted in a whole swath of the electorate not even listening to what we were saying,” he said.
One lesson Scheer takes from the 2015 election is that the party needs to offer real alternatives for Canadians.
“The wrong lesson would be to somehow think we need to change who we are or become more like the Liberals,” he said. “The right lesson is we just need to reach a broader audience of Canadians with a solid set of principles.”
If ultimately elected as prime minister, Scheer said his top priorities will be getting Canada’s economic and fiscal house in order.
“We’ll have a budget mess and we’ll have an economic mess,” he said. “We will probably have well over $100 billion in new debt that Justin Trudeau has racked up. We will have structural deficits and I’m convinced that we will not have any kind of job growth.”
Scheer will focus on creating jobs by attracting foreign investment and making it easier for Canadian businesses to hire people. With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office, he said Canada will need to remain competitive.
“We basically need a holistic jobs plan that looks at payroll taxes, taxes on job creators, trade and investment,” he said. “We need to lower investment across the board.”
Scheer said the Conservative Party “missed the mark” in last year’s federal election.
He said he believes the party’s proposals to ensure Canada’s refugee program was backed up with a robust security system and that Canada could accommodate the number of refugees is brought in were reasonable. However, Scheer said the party lost support among voters who thought it wasn’t being inclusive or welcoming.
“I absolutely believe there are Canadian values we need to promote and ensure that Canadians who come here are encouraged to integrate,” he said. “I believe our immigration system should be based on what immigrants can add and contribute to our economy and our society.”
Scheer has gained more support from sitting MPs than other candidates seeking the leadership.
Foothills MP John Barlow has thrown his support behind Scheer.
He said Scheer is a leader who has demonstrated an ability to work with both sides of the House of Commons.
Barlow said Scheer is bringing the right tone to his campaign and the party. He said people liked the Conservative policies and record, but they were turned off by the party’s tone during the 2015 election.
“What we saw in 2015, I certainly had feedback from many of my residents that attack ads, that angry, aggressive approach we seemed to have I don’t think that’s a constructive way to get our message across,” said Barlow.
Scheer being from Western Canada was a definite plus for Barlow. He said Scheer understands the challenges the Alberta economy is facing. Barlow shares Scheer’s opposition to the carbon tax.
Conservative Party members will select a new leader on May 27, 2017. Active party members will be able to vote and memberships must be purchased before March 28 to cast a ballot.
