I wish there was a real conservative party. I’d love to see a party leader stand up in front of the press and say, “I’m pro life and a social conservative. I’m not thrilled about certain policies like gay marriage and I’m against right to die legislation that is a slippery slope towards euthanizing the elderly and patients who are expensive to treat.”
I’d also support a leader who says, “We’re over-spending and saddling future generations with debt, so my first order of business will be to slash spending across departments by 10%.” Oh, and someone who raises honest questions about the values we’re importing under current immigration policy.
It should be someone who aggressively promotes cutting imports from China, making Canada more self-sufficient in health and defence, and diversifying trade so we’re less dependent on exports to the US.
I’d also like to see an end to identity politics and race-based favouritism, actually favouritism of any kind.
End all the liberal pet projects and spend more on infrastructure that will make Canada more competitive, such as high speed rail. Encourage research and development and investments in new equipment to boost productivity.
O’Toole isn’t a real conservative, but he’s probably the least damaging of the candidates. It doesn’t matter. Trudeau will win because of his charisma. Policy is a secondary consideration for the public, unfortunately. O’Toole has some interesting incentives for business investment, especially on tax policy, but he’s planning to spend far too much in my opinion.