The Conservatives’ plan to outflank Carney in a snap election
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Summary
The Conservative Party of Canada held a convention over the weekend in Calgary. Party leader Pierre Polyev passed his leadership review with flying colours. 87.4% of delegates voted to keep him as their leader, rather than have another leadership race. In this episode, you'll hear from Calgary MP Michelle Rempel-Garner, MP Jamil Javani from the GTA, Conservative campaign manager Steve Outhouse, party whip Chris Workington, and longtime operative, strategist, and candidate Gary Keller.
Transcript
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Most of all, thank you to the great grassroots conservatives who work and unite here today.
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The Conservative Party of Canada held a convention over the weekend in Calgary.
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Party leader Pierre Polyev passed his leadership review with flying colors.
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87.4% of delegates voted to keep him as their leader rather than have another leadership race.
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I'm Brian Lilly, your host, and I too spent the weekend in Calgary talking with delegates,
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talking with backroom operatives, MPs, candidates, and Conservative supporters,
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It was an interesting event and one that showed a party more confident and buoyant than outsiders might think.
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The people I was speaking with were excited about their party, excited about their leader,
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looking to the future with many expecting a spring election.
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In this episode, you're going to hear from Calgary MP Michelle Rempel-Garner, MP Jamil Javani from the GTA,
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Conservative campaign manager Steve Outhouse, party whip and Grand Prairie MP Chris Workington,
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and longtime operative staffer, pundit, and candidate Gary Keller.
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On Friday night, just before voting began on whether Polyev should stay or go,
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he opened his speech meant to rally the troops with some humor.
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I love seeing so many conservatives in one place, but it must freak the liberals out enough to invoke the Emergencies Act.
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Polyev's speech focused on issues that he feels matter to his voters.
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Affordability, housing, dealing with the fentanyl crisis.
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It wasn't a speech all about Donald Trump and the evil Americans.
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Instead, it was a solid speech that policy-wise didn't break new ground.
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But there was one section where he revealed something he hasn't really talked about much.
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While discussing what motivates him, what keeps him going, he mentioned his autistic daughter, Valentina.
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Polyev and his wife, Anna, have been fairly guarded in what they have to say about Valentina,
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letting out bits and pieces, but being private about what can be a difficult topic to discuss.
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On Friday night, Polyev got emotional speaking about that and a recent change.
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Hope, that's really the theme of this convention and this evening.
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Hope is the knowledge that your work will fulfill your purpose, your why.
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He who has a why can bear any how, Viktor Frankl wrote in the great book, Man's Search for Meaning.
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That thing that you call meaning could be for you a home, a career, a family, a business.
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Seeing your autistic daughter speak for the first time is the thing.
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It was one of a few emotional and personal moments for Polyev, who also spoke up against anti-Semitism and against Alberta separation.
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He spoke about hope and bringing hope to the many Canadians who have lost it.
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And he also explained why he wanted to keep fighting for Canada and the future.
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Because the unsung heroes who built and protect this country, who have it infinitely harder than I do, they never give up.
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Because all of you who pound signs on frozen ground, knock doors on dark nights, and sacrifice warm family dinners for cold campaign pizza, you never give up.
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Broadcasting at the conference with other MPs across the Conservative Party's various channels was Michelle Rempel-Garner, who took some time to unpack the convention and the result with me.
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Yeah, I've heard it a few people now, from a few people now.
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But now, looking forward, election prep, convincing Canadians you got the right plan.
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And I think the tension in the next few weeks, as the Liberals, I think they're pre-positioning for a snap election.
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But there's going to be a lot of tension where they, I think they want us to move away from questions of affordability, of crime, immigration, the bread and butter issues that are still affecting Canadians.
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Now, we know that part of that is, you know, some of the questions on sovereignty, on strengthening Canada's competitiveness.
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But the thing is, is like, we have proposals and plans for all of these things.
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I think what they're going to want us to move away from is, like, the fact that they don't have that.
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So, for us, it's going to be both holding them to account on some of their lack of plans, lack of action, while also getting our message out.
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Even where you are, not your riding specifically, but Alberta, beef is a big issue.
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Where you're originally from in Manitoba, pork is huge.
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So, there are areas that still need to be addressed.
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No, and, you know, the list goes far longer than that too.
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And, you know, she's talking about forestry and how there's been no action on forestry and how much that's affected her community.
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Tariffs are now up to, what, about 45% effective?
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And then, you know, you start looking at some of the domestic policy issues that are causing food inflation to be the highest in the G7.
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You know, you and I could yak for an hour on these things.
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But for us, I think it is going to be continuing to talk to, to show that there is not a plan there from the Liberal government.
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But then also showing some hope for Canadians in the path forward that we've developed, which we've already started to roll out this fall.
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I mean, I've put forward dozens of concrete reforms for the immigration system.
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A lot of my colleagues with different policy portfolio responsibilities have been doing the same.
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And I think, like, to your point, when we started talking, what happened last night was such a resounding outcome for Pierre.
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is that it's like, yep, okay, unified, onwards, onwards, let's go.
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And I do feel like the energy shifted last night in a really good way.
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Let's, now, now, now we're going into election readiness whenever that might be.
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So I want to talk to you about immigration specifically in a moment because you are the critic on that file.
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Now, I heard a lot of people say during the campaign, Pierre Polly, I was always negative.
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My reaction was, I don't think you're listening.
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No one can listen to that speech and say hope wasn't at the center of it.
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It's one of the things you need to get by in your daily life as a human, right?
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But I think saying, okay, here's why you should be hopeful doesn't mean that we can't talk about the problems that people are facing.
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And I think some of the challenge, some of the division you've seen in the country and frustration in Canada right now
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is because there are literally millions of people who feel like they haven't had their concerns heard.
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So giving voice to issues and then saying, okay, well, here's how we're going to solve them.
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To me, like the hope has two sides of that coin.
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And, you know, for the liberals, the contrast from Pierre's speech last night, which I think had both sides of that coin.
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The liberals have just said, here's some vibes, right?
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Here's a check to pay for your groceries, which didn't used to be unaffordable, but are now.
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Well, and that was like, it's a rewarmed policy from several years ago.
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Instead of, and in the meantime, when grocery prices have continued to increase,
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I was in a major Canadian low-cost grocery chain, low-cost in quotation marks.
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And, you know, a can of basic coffee was 33 bucks this week.
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The point is, is that we're out of time in this country on a lot of issues.
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And I think that the urgency for us is to show people that we get that, we hear that.
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And, you know, in Parliament, as Parliament sits, hold the government to account for the big grand promises they've made
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while showing alternative solutions as a government and waiting to fix those problems.
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I mean, I'm ready to get on the plane tomorrow morning, get back into the House,
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and continue on not just only with my immigration portfolio responsibilities,
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but also to be a strong voice for Alberta in the middle of a, you know, a challenging time
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where there are people who have questions about Canada and the Liberal government's performance in our province.
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I saw the Ipsos poll saying 28% in Alberta support independence.
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With all due respect to my friend Daryl Bricker, I think it's higher.
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And comments calling people traitors don't help.
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I think, you know, David Eby and others are driving people into the camp saying,
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What do you hear when you're on home turf like you are now?
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It'll be a six-year anniversary, actually, in February called the Buffalo Declaration.
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So, I actually, like, I read through it a couple of weeks ago, and it was so prescient.
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You know, I think, in hindsight, if the pandemic hadn't happened exactly when I put it out,
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Like, this has been simmering for years now since the impacts of a decade of disastrous liberal policies
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have fundamentally shifted the ability for Albertans to participate in many areas of the economy.
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Like, I run as a conservative because, you know, as Pierre said in his speech last night,
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it's something I've always said, you don't see national unity crises under a conservative government.
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I sat in Stephen Harper's cabinet, and I can tell you,
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the goal was to, if there was regional issues or regional tensions, was to solve it.
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And if there was a policy where you couldn't fix that, it was, okay, well, do we really need this?
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And number two, you know, I'm not going to shy away from talking about the concerns that,
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valid concerns that people are bringing up about fairness and equality.
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And for me, a lot of these questions on sovereignty, it's like, well, ask Mark Carney about this.
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You know, like, does he think these concerns are valid?
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You know, like, are you just going to dismiss what's happening here?
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And I think if he does, that's really irresponsible.
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I worry that if they do call a snap election and get a majority, that it will fuel the independence movement in Alberta.
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I know everybody, the liberal industrial doom spiral complex that is the, you know, leftist media in Canada are going to try and paint this narrative that we're not competitive.
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Let's talk on an issue where you guys are hitting a nerve, I think.
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It's an issue that the Liberals refused to say for a long time was an issue.
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They wanted to deny it as numbers crept up, as the temporary foreign worker program went out of control.
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They've reduced on some fronts, but they are still at huge numbers.
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The asylum claim system, which I know you document well, it's over 300,000 now waiting for a hearing, isn't it?
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I'm so glad you asked this because I actually wanted to talk to you about it anyways.
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So the Liberals have set these numbers, which are still really high, making the assumption or predicated on the assumption that, you know,
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2 million plus people that are in Canada on expired or expiring visas are going to leave.
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So the question becomes like, okay, well, what happens if they all stay?
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I had something called an order paper question.
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You're well acquainted with this for your listeners who aren't.
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It's this tool where you can, MPs can get, you know, data out of the federal government on where all of the asylum claims were coming from.
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The answer to this was released on Monday, and you would be shocked to see the numbers of asylum claims that are coming from foreign student visas that have expired.
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And I knew that it was going to be very high, but it was off the charts.
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And so for me, it's like, okay, well, if you don't have a plan to follow the law, ensure that the law is enforced and people who are here temporarily actually leave,
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then you can't keep adding millions of people over a five-year period to Canada when we don't have housing, health care, and jobs infrastructure to support that.
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So, you know, I think that there's a bigger conversation to be had.
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We're going to be pressing them on removals because that's the law, right?
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Would that go over well right now with what's happening in the U.S.?
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And so many Canadians are obsessed with American news.
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And they'll say, oh, see, the Conservatives want to bring ICE to Canada.
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I don't think one bit that we've done anything close to the sort.
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And I think, frankly, if people, you know, if the far left want to suggest that questions like saying, like, okay,
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existing Canadian law says that if you are here on a temporary visa or an expiring visa, you need to leave.
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Oh, hey, government, how are you going to enforce that?
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And I think people would actually get mad at me for not asking those questions, given that it's not fair for anybody to, you know,
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to watch the impacts of too many people too fast in the country.
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Number one source that I hear complaints about this from are people who came through the traditional legal channels.
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It's not fair to people who are waiting in the queue, playing by the rules.
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I especially think of temporary foreign workers who oftentimes are abused by employers.
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There was, again, one of these order paper questions that came out this week that showed the actual number of tips to the abuse line
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So, in order for there to be consensus on immigration, it has to be fair and orderly.
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And I think that's just common sense to get there.
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Well, hey, don't know for sure, but I was the first one to write about it in January.
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Chris Warkington is the Conservative Party whip, one of Polyev's close advisors,
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and someone in charge of keeping MPs in the House of Commons all moving in the same direction.
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He also believes, looking at the signs, well, the Liberals appear to be planning for that spring election we keep talking about,
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But he doesn't think Canadians are going to believe Carney's narrative.
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Importantly, he also points out that the Conservatives have offered to work with the Liberals
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and, in fact, have already given Carney enough power to start building major projects.
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Obviously, we have worked with the Liberals to pass legislation that they say that they need to get stuff done.
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What's startling is just how little Mark Carney has done.
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You know, he had C5 because he needed that to ensure that he could get big projects done immediately.
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Then he created this big office, spent, you know, a million bucks hiring staff, but have done nothing.
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And I think that Canadians are starting to ask the question, you know,
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is he actually going to get stuff done that he claimed he was going to get done?
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He said he was going to, you know, he was going to get the budget into some better shape.
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Obviously, he's broken that promise, but really underperformed on a whole bunch of other things.
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So I think that, you know, at the end, you know, we have to do our job to actually articulate a clear vision
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as to how we would get done, what we say that will get done.
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Canadians are going to now demand politicians in the next election actually lay out their plan
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rather than just believing that, you know, a politician like Mark Carney,
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because he said he's going to do something, that'll do it.
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The major projects office is close to where we're standing right now.
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Carney submitted two lists, but even admitted just because he submits a list
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I'm sure you probably thought, okay, good, she's doing something at the start,
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Well, I think what we're seeing is that there's a lot of speeches
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and there's a lot of, you know, words that he's been, you know, giving,
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He's depending on the, you know, he's leaning on the bureaucracy.
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and getting the same outcome that Justin Trudeau did,
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So I think that, you know, we are disappointed.
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We expected that he would do at least some of what he said he was going to do.
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He said he's going to move at unimaginable speed.
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And that statement that he made when he set up the major projects office
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and put forward his list that it still doesn't mean it gets built,
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that was shocking to me because I thought that if the prime minister
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give me your major projects and we'll review them and then approve them,
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and then he does, and he says, but it doesn't mean it's approved yet.
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So that's not moving at speeds not seen in generations.
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Well, and that's not what Bill C5 allows him to do.
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It allows him and his ministers to approve projects.
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There's no requirement that there be a large project office.
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There's no requirement that the bureaucracy signs off on it.
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It's the ability for the prime minister to sign off on projects, him alone.
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So now he's setting up all of these road, you know, these hurdles,
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these road bumps and saying, well, it's not me, it's somebody else.
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I think what happened was we gave him the tools to get the job done,
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And it scared him because his ministers, his caucus was saying,
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we're not going to stand behind you if you approve certain projects.
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And so all of a sudden he's now looking for scapegoats.
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So he's creating these bureaucratic scapegoats that sound, you know,
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sound like they're positive, but when you actually look at the fine print,
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they're actually building encumbrances and limiting what he could have done unilaterally.
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And I think Canadians are going to catch on to that.
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When we come back, the man with a very tough job getting the Conservative Party ready
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for the next election, the party's new campaign manager, Steve Outhouse.
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This is Tristan Hopper, the host of Canada Did What?,
00:20:45.380
where we unpack the biggest, weirdest, and wildest political moments in Canadian history
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you thought you knew and tell you what really happened.
00:20:53.500
Stick around at the end of the episode to hear a sample of one of our favourite episodes.
00:20:57.980
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00:21:03.820
As we discussed on Full Comment last week, a snap election is possible.
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The Liberals are certainly setting the table for one, which makes Steve Outhouse's job
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He has to get the party ready at a moment's notice to fight an election.
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They've got the money, having raised a record $48 million last year.
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But Outhouse just took over in December from former campaign manager and director Jenny Byrne.
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By the way, Byrne was at the convention, I spoke with her briefly, and she denies the claim
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that her critics are making that she's still the real boss for the next campaign.
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She says, look, I'm around if anybody needs advice, but Steve is the one in charge.
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Here is my conversation with the man in charge, Steve Outhouse.
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Morning after the vote, how are you feeling with 87.4%?
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Yeah, we're feeling fantastic after the vote last night.
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I mean, to have over 87%, you know, when I got here earlier this week, the mood was
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very, very positive and very, very upbeat, but you can't read into anecdotal evidence.
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And so to see the results come out last night was very rewarding.
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I think it gives a clear mandate, and at this point in time, we can, you know, focus on the
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So the, I mean, there is a lot of talk about a coming election.
00:22:20.540
You know, does campaign readiness suddenly go from months to a year from now to weeks,
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Since we started, or since I started, I guess, like you said, in December, I mean, I would
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love to know the timing, and I'll continue to leave the door open if the Liberals wish
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I can put that into my planner and start working.
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At the same time, I've said since the beginning, well, look, this could be three months or it
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So we'll be ready to go this spring if they choose to call an election.
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I think they have the mandate that they need to go ahead and negotiate and get a deal with
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And we haven't really seen that yet take place.
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However, this is politics, and often people are going to look for partisan interest rather
00:23:08.400
And I think right now, there's a lot of things that would make it attractive for the Liberals
00:23:12.960
Well, when I look at the Davos speech, the reaction to it, the speech in Quebec City, very
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nationalistic, didn't play well in certain parts of Quebec, but, you know, nationalistic
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and historic, you know, and then handing out money and then calling your party obstructionist.
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Sounds like they're at least setting the table so if they want to have an election meal, it's
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You've observed politics for quite some time, and you can see that, you know, all the bread
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And that's exactly the tone that they're setting.
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And that's why we wanted to make sure that, you know, the leader had written the Prime Minister
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to say, look, we're ready to get down to business.
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We're ready to move from, you know, rhetoric to results, as he said.
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We can do some things, things that we might like to do better on bail reform and so on.
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But, hey, a step forward is better than nothing at all.
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Let's get it off the books, you know, and move some things forward to help some Canadians
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Let's approve a pipeline, you know, once that application comes in and so on.
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So there's a lot that we can do to help move these things along, and we're ready to do that.
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And I think that was a good-faith move by the leader, and now it's up to the government.
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Now it's interesting to see, you know, some Liberal ministers go out and, even with that
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letter in hand, still claim obstructionists and, you know, start to talk about the fine
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Anyway, all we can do is be ready, and we're ready to work for Canadians.
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You were successful here in Alberta by getting the United Conservative Party Premier Smith to
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You were successful in Newfoundland, and, you know, I had started to think the PCs may not
00:24:58.260
Um, what are you looking at in terms of pivot points connecting, getting that extra bump?
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Because, you know, 40% from the last election, that normally wins you a majority.
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You're looking for new ways to reach out to low-propensity voters?
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Are you looking to tap into people who are maybe lent their vote to Mark Carney last time
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and are now saying, well, where are the results?
00:25:20.920
Yeah, so I won't lay out strategy per se, but I think in fairness...
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Yeah, yeah, I'll email it, and you can put it on all your platforms, it'll be fine, but
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no, but in, like, not getting into specific strategy, but I don't think this is telling
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I mean, obviously, you know, our strength right now is with young voters, which of course
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is a shift for us as a movement overall, and we're excited about it.
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So we do have to keep reaching out to more and more younger voters who will be voting
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for their first time and finding ways to get them engaged.
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At the same time, you know, despite having a historic level of support and vote that we
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got, you know, the last time around, we did lose the support of some older, in particular
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male voters that decided to, you know, park their vote with Carney and the Liberals for the
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Folks that, you know, traditionally may have voted Conservative.
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They are much more traditional, Conservative-leaning voters.
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So it is a both-and that we need to continue to engage new voters that are very much aligned
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and have those top-of-mind concerns that have been the strength of our leader and our party
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of, you know, cost of living, you know, crime, housing being a big one, you know, but then
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continue to talk to those others that may be a bit more seized with the international
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I did hear complaints from some of my media colleagues who are seized with the international
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I mean, they didn't talk enough, Pierre didn't talk enough about Trump.
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I mean, you've got to have a position, but the more you talk about Trump, the more it
00:26:50.340
I found the speech talking about the trade issues and the impact on jobs to be quite
00:26:58.540
Are they looking for us to just, you know, focus on Trump?
00:27:00.560
Are they looking to understand where we stand about Canada's place in the world?
00:27:03.500
And to me, having a strong Canada that can actually manufacture things at home, what I'm frustrated
00:27:08.040
about, you know, as a Canadian is that since COVID hit, there was all this talk about we
00:27:17.420
The Liberal government has done nothing on that for now over a decade, you know, first
00:27:22.140
And now this is continuing along with the allegedly new, you know, Canada's new government.
00:27:28.060
And so, of course, when our opponents say, well, you need to pivot and you need to change
00:27:32.260
and you need to do this, what they want us to do, and it's a smart political strategy.
00:27:36.560
Let's get over to an area where we're polling really well and have you play on our, you
00:27:41.720
And it's like, this is one of the issues for sure.
00:27:46.200
But just like the Liberals, you know, the Liberals don't want to talk about cost of living and
00:27:49.820
So, I mean, this is where a bit of the message battle goes on.
00:27:54.520
I think it laid out the principles of, you know, Canada's place in the world.
00:28:00.560
Without getting into the weeds and personal rifts, you know, part of your success in Alberta
00:28:09.660
The UCP is an infamously factional party, which can be great for people like me, bad for you
00:28:20.100
I know there have been some conversations with people that were, you know, felt alienated
00:28:24.040
or there were trouble between the leader and them in the past, but not all.
00:28:29.020
How do you bring about unity and get everyone saying, all right, here's the mission?
00:28:34.320
Definitely teamwork is an important part of what I like to try to bring to the table of any
00:28:41.060
So, yeah, and in Alberta, it was very important.
00:28:44.280
And I, you know, we could talk to our caucus and talk to our people.
00:28:48.240
And there was a lot of people who've been on different sides of things, but they were
00:28:56.220
And I think that's an example we can point to here.
00:28:58.200
And I want to help build those relationships wherever I can.
00:29:01.280
I'm looking forward to going to the Nova Scotia PC's AGM next weekend out in Halifax and connecting
00:29:07.180
I've had some good discussions with people in the Ontario PC's and, of course, again,
00:29:12.540
And BC's going through their leadership right now, but still kind of touching base with
00:29:17.740
So, yeah, I want to build those relationships up all across the country because we need to
00:29:23.840
And obviously, you know, that worked in Newfoundland right now where there's, yeah, are there some
00:29:27.780
differences between the federal party and the provincial PC's?
00:29:31.320
But they got together, the MPs worked with their candidates, and we saw victory there.
00:29:36.840
And I really hope that we can do that on the national scene.
00:29:42.560
Gary Keller is a veteran of many political campaigns.
00:29:45.680
He ran in Nipissing-Temiskimane in the last election.
00:29:48.320
For years, he was chief of staff to John Baird, including when Baird was foreign affairs
00:29:53.060
And he's been around commenting on federal politics for more than 20 years.
00:29:56.900
He says bringing Steve Outhouse fresh off provincial winds in Alberta, Newfoundland, is a smart
00:30:02.860
He called it one of the structural changes that need to be made to help the Conservatives
00:30:08.980
Keller also said that despite what some critics are saying, Polyev himself is also making changes
00:30:15.840
I think as well, I think what you saw the other day, Mr. Polyev's response to Mr.
00:30:20.640
Carney's speech, Davos speech, I thought it was the tone was right.
00:30:26.120
It laid out an approach that did recognize where he agreed with Mr. Carney, but laid out
00:30:33.460
And very clearly laid out where you can disagree with policies without being disagreeable.
00:30:38.860
Now, last week in the House, this last week in the House of Commons, we've seen government
00:30:43.940
He has been off his rocker trying to goad Conservatives, calling them obstructionists,
00:30:49.980
even though Mr. Polyev and the Conservatives issued a letter and saying, we'll support the
00:30:53.200
government on these key issues, including bail reform.
00:30:55.680
And so, while the Liberals are trying to gin up people in the House of Commons and outside,
00:31:03.740
you know, I think Mr. Polyev and his team are focused on doing the building blocks to create
00:31:08.340
the right conditions to fight the next election.
00:31:11.000
And that includes having candidates in place earlier and organization in place earlier.
00:31:15.640
You mentioned Steve McKinnon calling the government or the opposition obstructionist.
00:31:20.380
I mean, they were blaming the Conservatives for the bail bill, bail reform bill not being
00:31:26.980
They had not called it to committee that they control.
00:31:29.740
So, to me, when you look at the Davos speech, the reaction of the Davos speech, which Carney
00:31:36.080
knew would come, you look at the expanded GST rebate, you look at the language of obstructions,
00:31:44.120
it does feel like, I'm not saying they will go to an early election, but it feels like they're
00:31:48.080
setting the groundwork so that if they need to, if they want to, they can.
00:31:55.020
I think there are people within the Liberal Party apparatus and perhaps even in the caucus
00:31:59.380
and in the cabinet who would like to go to an election sooner rather than later.
00:32:04.700
I'm not convinced that Mark Carney himself wants to go to an election.
00:32:11.920
I don't think he loved the last 36 days of the campaign.
00:32:15.200
And, you know, there were a lot of smart people around him who said, don't worry, Mr.
00:32:18.840
Carney, you're going to get your 185, 190 seats.
00:32:25.320
So I think he looks back at that and says, OK, smart guys, you said I was going to get
00:32:30.900
What's to say that if you say I'm going to get it now, then we don't get the same result.
00:32:34.980
And so I think he himself might be the voice of reason within the Liberal Party who, but
00:32:40.920
clearly to your point, you know, Steve McKinnon and others are, you know, ramping up the
00:32:49.660
How does Pierre Polyev, how does the party deal with Donald Trump?
00:32:55.020
Because the reaction to that Davos speech, look, I'm in the minority.
00:32:58.200
I did not think it was a great speech because of the policy undertones and what I knew would
00:33:07.840
And a lot of Canadians rallying to their leader, their prime minister, because of what is going
00:33:22.960
And, you know, I didn't agree with everything in the Davos speech, but I did agree with the
00:33:28.120
general overtones that the world has changed and that Canada needs to reflect that change.
00:33:33.800
Now, what is unsaid in that speech, obviously, is like, well, who was in power for the last
00:33:38.460
10 years who didn't do the heavy lifting to lay the groundwork in case of a threat?
00:33:44.520
It was the same group of people that are around Mr. Carney that were around Mr. Trudeau at the
00:33:49.340
So I do think, though, that Canadians as a whole are generally opposed to Donald Trump,
00:33:58.580
And trying to be evasive or trying to skirt around that issue is just it's a non-winner.
00:34:07.460
And I think Mr. Polyev recently has put out some very clear statements about where he disagrees
00:34:15.360
And I think we need to do that without being ramping up the rhetoric that that is that
00:34:30.440
Jamil Javani is one of the new crop of MPs bringing a different energy to the Conservative
00:34:35.600
He's made news recently with his announced plan to head to Washington and see his law school
00:34:40.460
buddy and close friend J.D. Vance, the current American vice president.
00:34:44.060
We talked about that, about his campaign to restore the North, the struggles facing young
00:34:54.860
And now we can, you know, focus on winning the next election.
00:34:59.100
I was talking with one person who said, you know, I expected him to get 81, 82, listen
00:35:05.780
to the speech, said, didn't move me because I've heard it so much.
00:35:08.420
But then they're in line voting and listening to everyone around them and felt like the
00:35:18.240
I think the speech reminded people of how much Pierre has modernized our party and brought
00:35:23.380
us to a point where we are talking about people and experiences we didn't talk about
00:35:30.800
I mean, you saw on that stage he was surrounded by Zoomers.
00:35:33.320
And I think it's just a reminder of how much we've changed in a positive way, how much
00:35:39.060
And it affirmed that Pierre's brought us to a good point.
00:35:41.360
And we've just got to keep fighting instead of turning back.
00:35:44.040
So you're looking forward now instead of backward at the last election, potentially spring election,
00:35:59.560
The reason being that I think Canadians are tired.
00:36:02.860
I don't think Canadians want an election right now.
00:36:05.240
But wouldn't a lot of your supporters want you to bring down the government?
00:36:10.100
Why won't the Conservatives defeat the government?
00:36:11.980
A lot of people don't understand how the system works and that you'd need the other parties.
00:36:16.020
But I'm sure you hear from folks, take down the Kearney government.
00:36:22.440
Well, the why we bring them down is what matters.
00:36:24.520
So if we're presented with a real issue that is a fork in the road for our country and we
00:36:29.220
bring them down for that reason, I'd be proud of that.
00:36:31.480
I don't want to be out there, you know, bringing them down just for the sake of bringing them
00:36:40.020
And we've got to, you know, we've got to get to a point where we've got a plan for the
00:36:45.240
And, you know, we've got a lot to deal with in the House.
00:36:48.140
We haven't been to work very much in Parliament in a long time.
00:36:51.240
And I'd like to see us get to work and from there figure out when a good election time
00:36:56.120
I know that you've talked about going down to Washington.
00:36:59.800
You've offered the Prime Minister help, you know, go and see your your longtime friend,
00:37:07.300
When I asked Pierre about that in December, I said, are you OK with this?
00:37:12.580
There were questions of, you know, would the leader of the Conservative Party be good with
00:37:16.780
And he said, I'm absolutely fine if it helps the country.
00:37:19.780
But the Kearney government hasn't taken you up on it.
00:37:24.440
I am going to affirm that I stand in solidarity with our government.
00:37:30.800
I want us to have a strong position with the United States.
00:37:34.220
I think Kuzma is very important for our country.
00:37:36.760
And I want Mark Carney to be successful in negotiating a good trade deal for Canada.
00:37:41.160
I hope he takes me up on my offer for us to work together because I don't think this
00:37:45.840
But if he wants to make it a partisan issue, that's up to him.
00:37:50.760
And that will be my message to the United States and the people I talk to down in Washington.
00:37:56.080
I want our federal government to be talking to their federal government.
00:37:58.880
I don't want the actions of provincial politicians to be derailing things like what happened in
00:38:04.060
In terms of Kuzma, you know, you represent a rioting in the Durham region.
00:38:09.440
I'm sure that you've got constituents who are affected by the layoff at GM.
00:38:15.800
If this isn't fixed, there'll be more jobs gone at that plan.
00:38:18.700
Yeah, and that's what I want more people who are in politics or observing politics to
00:38:27.220
People's lives are getting worse as the Kuzma deal takes longer and longer to be renegotiated.
00:38:35.480
Like, that's what's happening right now, it feels like.
00:38:37.100
People want to posture around, you know, are you anti-American enough?
00:38:42.360
You know, for me, it's just like, let's get a deal done.
00:38:44.200
It's what our country needs and it's time to get to work.
00:38:46.240
Well, that's what I hear too often is, we shouldn't have a deal with him.
00:38:52.500
And in my view, you can only have that if you are very comfortable, very well off.
00:38:56.960
Maybe if you're retired and don't have to worry about work.
00:38:59.380
But working Canadians need jobs that will often rely on the United States.
00:39:04.200
Yeah, there's political fantasy out there that seems to think that China and a deal with
00:39:12.140
We need to work with the United States, not just for economic reasons, but also for security
00:39:21.040
And if we want to put our own people first, we need to work with the Americans.
00:39:24.360
On another matter, you're doing a couple of things.
00:39:27.560
You're doing Restore the North and you and Shuf Majumdar have been talking about liberal
00:39:34.820
Fill me in on those two efforts or are they part of the same and why you're taking those
00:39:43.900
Well, Restore the North is about bringing the voices of young Canadians to the forefront of
00:39:47.660
the issues that they are caring about, jobs, mental health, immigration.
00:39:51.080
These are priorities we hear on campuses all around the country.
00:39:56.120
Stopping liberal racism, a lot of young people see that as a barrier to them getting a fair
00:40:00.660
chance in the economy because it has now become normal for the federal government and through
00:40:05.200
the industries it regulates to hire people and fire people on the basis of their skin
00:40:10.460
I grew up, I'm 38, not that old, but I grew up at a time where that was considered racism
00:40:14.320
and I believe it's still racism and I don't really care what the liberals have to say about
00:40:17.960
You can't repackage old bigotry and old biases and tell me that that's progress.
00:40:23.320
So when we say stop liberal racism, it's about making sure we treat everybody fairly and equally
00:40:29.260
And I know that you're also out there talking about young men and I've heard some commentary
00:40:35.460
that this is some weird far right interest or cult thing.
00:40:42.320
Down in the States, the biggest advocate of this is a guy named Scott Galloway, who is
00:40:50.580
I'm not sure if it applies to other Western countries as well, but across North America,
00:40:55.300
young men are, what was the name of the old movie, Failure to Launch?
00:41:15.540
But no, I mean, look, I've written a book about this.
00:41:18.560
This has been an interest of mine for over a decade now.
00:41:22.420
Yeah, I've been seeing these issues, whether it's addiction, homelessness, unemployment,
00:41:28.140
high school dropout rates, disproportionately affecting young men.
00:41:31.380
And the reality is our federal government has a department called Women and Gender Equality
00:41:35.240
that does not view the issues facing young men as part of gender equality.
00:41:39.300
So we don't have a government that is looking at this.
00:41:41.800
And as an MP, I want to bring the silenced and marginalized people to the forefront and make
00:41:49.020
And that's what this is about for me, making sure young men are not forgotten.
00:41:54.200
I'll say this about the conservative convention.
00:41:56.280
It should put to rest the idea of a divided party, the idea that there is some kind of
00:42:00.960
revolt against Polyev, his leadership or his style.
00:42:04.440
The man received almost 90 percent support with 95 percent of delegates voting.
00:42:12.440
Perhaps a spring election, maybe one in the fall.
00:42:15.040
If either one of those happen, remember what I say about politics.
00:42:32.180
Please remember to hit subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast.
00:42:36.560
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00:42:53.580
Imagine yourself inside a Boeing 767 operated by Air Canada.
00:43:01.000
You're traveling between Montreal and Edmonton.
00:43:04.280
And a couple hours into the flight, the comforting roar of its two jet engines suddenly stop and most of the power cuts out.
00:43:15.980
The plane that landed at Gimli, Manitoba last Saturday ran out of gas because of an error in metric conversion.
00:43:22.860
I regret to inform you that you're inside the Gimli Glider, one of history's only incidents of a civilian airliner running out of gas in the middle of the sky.
00:43:33.900
And this happened because someone didn't know how to properly measure out enough jet fuel.
00:43:39.540
Now, I mention the Gimli Glider only to note that systems of measure are not just numbers on a page.
00:43:46.800
They might not be on par with language or religion, but they're ways of understanding the world around us.
00:43:53.800
And if you screw with them, even with the best of intentions, you might get the occasional airliner falling out of the sky.
00:44:02.080
Fortunately, in this instance, it miraculously worked out fine.
00:44:05.880
The pilots in control of this particular Air Canada flight just happened to be two of the only people on Earth perfectly suited to safely bring down a crippled full-size airliner
00:44:21.760
The other one was a former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who just happened to have served at a Manitoba airbase that was now directly underneath them.
00:44:32.620
If you want to hear the rest of the story, make sure you subscribe to Canada Did What?