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Moderates are entering the Conservative leadership race. How will they fare?

Well, the plot thickens. A familiar face from the past, Jean Charest, has announced he’s running for the Conservative Party leadership.
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Well, the plot thickens. A familiar face from the past, Jean Charest, has announced he’s running for the Conservative Party leadership.

If nothing else, he presents a very sharp contrast to most of the other candidates who have indicated they are in the race.

Charest has been around politics, both provincially and federally, for many years. He’s a familiar face. He was an MP under Brian Mulroney (Progressive Conservative) beginning in 1984 and was something of a wunderkind, being named to cabinet before he was 30. He left federal politics in 1998, to become the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and served as premier from 2003 to 2012.

It is that affiliation with the Liberals that could hinder Charest.

Most Conservatives consider the very word “Liberal” a curse and barely restrain themselves from spitting on the ground when uttering it. Now you’re asking them to consider a former Liberal — albeit provincial — as their leader?

Pierre Poilievre, who is also running for the leadership, from, shall we say a slightly more-to-the-right position, is already doing everything he can to link Charest to despised Liberal policies.

Charest is running on building consensus and unity, but considering the way the Conservative Party recently turfed leader Erin O’Toole for suggesting similar things, there may be little appetite in the party for that sort of message.

Charest is not wrong that division and alienation are not the key to getting more Canadians to vote for the party nationally, but the mood in the party itself is currently leaning more to Poilievre politics than Charest’s.

Still, Charest made the trek out to the Conservative heartland in Calgary to announce his candidacy.

Also running for the leadership is Roman Baber, an Ontario MPP, who has been outspoken against Covid mandates. He currently sits as an Independent after Premier Doug Ford gave him the boot for clashing with him over mandates. Baber is not well known outside Ontario and will have a steep hill to climb to beat out the more well known Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis on the far right.

Another interesting name declaring for the leadership is Patrick Brown, former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. Brown was a rising star, and poised to win an election in 2018 when he was forced to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct. Still, he always denied the allegations and nothing was ever proven. He filed a lawsuit against CTV news which broke the story.

The National Post reported last week that a settlement had been reached with CTV, who acknowledged that there were inaccuracies in their reporting. Brown has been passing time as Mayor of Brampton, ON in the past few years.

Certainly Brown would love another opportunity for political leadership. He was almost Premier of Ontario, and appealed to a fairly broad spectrum of Ontario voters before his career was derailed.

But again, is the mood of Conservative voters leaning to a look at a moderate like Brown or Charest?

I don’t think it is. Even though either of those two could potentially provide a clearer path to a win in a federal election. But there will be no decision made until the party faithful vote on September 10. Many things could change before then.



Carolyn Grant

About the Author: Carolyn Grant

I have been with the Kimberley Bulletin since 2001 and have enjoyed every moment of it.
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