Conservative Congress | O’Toole wants to prepare his forces for a possible spring reconnaissance

Joel Dennis Bellavans
Journalism

But recent statements by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau show that he will try to call elections in the spring. Mr O’Toole will take advantage of his party’s national conference, which kicks off Thursday and will effectively gather 5,500 participants, to prepare his forces for a possible spring reconnaissance.

Evaluating the chances of such a scenario being 75%, Mr. O’Toole is pleased that members are prioritizing economic issues during this three-day conference and that social issues such as abortion have been put aside.

Because the ballot box issue, according to him, will be very simple after an epidemic that lasted more than 12 months and an economic crisis that has pushed many small and medium-sized companies to the brink of bankruptcy: Which political party is more capable of that? Reviving the economy in all regions and in all sectors?

In an interview with Journalism Wednesday, on the eve of the conference, Irene O’Toole indicated that in April or May he will unveil certain elements of the economic recovery plan that he intends to propose to Canadians during the upcoming election campaign. He will discuss some of his priorities in his speech to his troops scheduled for Friday.

“After our conference, we will fine-tune our policies for our campaign. It will be important. We have a lot of ideas coming from our members, representatives and volunteers. But we will announce some elements before the elections. I hope we have time to prepare for this before the elections. But that depends.” Mr. O’Toole said.

A poll conducted by Angus Reid on Wednesday showed that the Conservative leader is compatible with a majority of Canadians. Indeed, 63% of respondents in this poll are against holding elections by the end of August. On the other hand, 67% of Canadians said they would support a poll between September and December, once the majority of the Canadian population has been vaccinated. New Democratic Party leader Jagmit Singh and Quebecois Bloc leader Yves Francois Blanchett are also opposed to hasty elections.

“In my opinion, it is inappropriate to hold elections in the midst of a pandemic. We have seen the situation in Newfoundland.” Mr. O’Toole insisted, “It was a disaster,” indicating that the chief election officer in this county had to personally cancel voting at the last minute and organize voting by mail due to the outbreak Cases The results of this poll, which was scheduled for February 13th, will not be known until March 26th.

We need vaccines, we need economic stimulus before the elections. But I think that after the budget, the government will prepare the ground for elections. I’ll be ready, even if I don’t think the time is right. We have to focus on the health, the economy, and the well-being of Canadians, not the luxury of the liberal party, ”introduced Mr. O’Toole.

It would be the first Conservatives’ conference since Mr. O’Toole pawned former Attorney General Peter MacKay in the leadership race in August. Mackay, who will not be a candidate in the upcoming elections, will be evident by his absence from Congress.

In recent weeks, the media have reported grumbling about Mr. O’Toole’s performance, prompted in particular by the treatment of another contender in the race, Ontario MP Derek Sloan. The latter, a pro-life, was expelled from the Conservative party rally after it was revealed that he accepted a donation of $ 131 from a champion for white supremacy during the leadership race.

His expulsion from the Conservative Party has angered party activists who are trying to revive the abortion debate.

“I am a supporter of choice and I am proud of our members because there are 34 Congressional policies and many policies related to taxes, the economy, jobs, health and crime. But it is not about abortion or any other controversial social issues. It is necessary because we must modernize our movement to attract more Kepikers in the upcoming elections.” .