00:00:18.000The Andrew Lawton Show starts right now.
00:00:22.000Hello everyone, welcome to the Andrew Lawton Show here on True North.
00:00:25.000We are live from the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
00:00:31.000I've been at this conference many times before, although not in several years.
00:00:34.000Like everything else, COVID has killed in-person conferences for the last few years.
00:00:39.000So this is big. I was talking to Troy Lanigan earlier, who's the president of the Canada Strong and Free Network.
00:00:44.000The outgoing president, as you'll learn in a moment.
00:00:47.000And he was saying that this is the best attended conference yet.
00:00:51.000So lots of people from all over the country are here and talking about a great number of things that are connecting to the Conservative movement.
00:00:57.000And I say movement to specify this isn't a capital-C Conservative affair in totality.
00:01:03.000Now there is obviously a huge presence here among Conservative members of Parliament and also Conservative leadership candidates.
00:01:09.000Notably the debate that was held last night, co-moderated by Candace Malcolm, my colleague at True North.
00:01:15.000And also Jamil Javani, who's the incoming president of the Canada Strong and Free Network.
00:01:20.000And if you didn't catch the debate yet, I would encourage you to watch it.
00:01:23.000Because it was truly fantastic how a lot of issues that you don't normally hear about when the mainstream media is framing the narrative were front and centre.
00:01:33.000And specifically the convoy, not the Freedom Convoy as this, you know, radical white supremacist neo-Nazi hate fest or the Russian-backed insurrection.
00:01:42.000But the convoy as a reflection of Canadian frustration with the status quo in Canada, with vaccine mandates, with vaccine passports.
00:01:51.000And it was interesting seeing how, in this debate, the Freedom Convoy, there was a one-upsmanship about it.
00:01:57.000Of, no, I supported it first. No, I supported it first.
00:02:00.000Leslie Lewis and Pierre Polyev, notably, were going back and forth on who was the greatest of the truck whisperers, so to speak.
00:02:06.000And I think that was a tremendously important point.
00:02:08.000Because this was a convoy that, as many of you watching this show know, resonated with a lot of Canadians.
00:02:14.000Not just conventionally conservative Canadians.
00:02:17.000And that's why it's been so important, I think, to see this really in a position where Pierre Polyev was comparatively loose-lipped about how supportive he was.
00:02:26.000And I mean that in a good way, saying, yeah, I support the truckers.
00:02:29.000My position hasn't changed. That's what I stand for.
00:02:32.000So I know there's going to be a lot of stuff about the debate in the days ahead.
00:02:35.000And we've also done some interviews with a few of the leadership candidates that we'll share with you in the days ahead.
00:02:40.000But first, I wanted to put the spotlight on the conference itself.
00:02:44.000You know, almost a thousand people from across the country gathered here today to discuss the state and future of the conservative movement.
00:02:51.000I have to talk about this at first with Troy Lanigan.
00:02:54.000Troy Lanigan, outgoing president of the Canada Strong and Free Network.
00:02:59.000So let's start with the elephant in the room.
00:03:00.000Are you happy to never have to put another one of these on?
00:03:02.000They are a lot of work leading up to it.
00:03:05.000But it's certainly rewarding once you're at the event and it's happening and seeing everybody and, boy, the energy in that room last night.
00:03:12.000And just, you know, looking out on stage when I introduced everyone and seeing that room packed makes all the work worthwhile.
00:03:19.000Yeah. I mean, I know the conference and previously the Manning Conference, its former iteration, has always prided itself on being the conservative movement conference, not a conservative party conference.
00:03:28.000But in a leadership race, which the Conservative Party of Canada is in the midst of right now, there's always a lot more of a focus on the intersection of those two and the conservative movement and the conservative party.
00:03:40.000You actually got to set the tone by having the first debate here.
00:03:45.000Well, look, it is it is big C and it's small C.
00:03:48.000It's mostly a movement based conference.
00:03:50.000But obviously this year was a unique opportunity to do that debate.
00:03:53.000So we were happy to be able to host it.
00:03:55.000And look, it's good for the big C and small C to talk to each other and especially for the big C to understand there's this ecosystem out there of movement organizations from right across the country.
00:04:06.000And those relationships we have, you know, this conference helps to establish and they're important relationships.
00:04:11.000And obviously you had, I mean, just to deal with one of the glaring things, you had one candidate missing who then the next day Patrick Brown sent out an email basically kind of mocking the debate and saying it wasn't a real debate.
00:04:29.000He was absolutely invited and we wanted him to attend.
00:04:32.000But I mean, I mean, this is the this is the movement conference in the country each year.
00:04:38.000If you're running for conservative leader and five of the six five to six candidates are prepared to show up, you've probably missed the boat somewhere.
00:04:44.000Explain to me where you think going out as president of the Canada Strong and Free Network with conservative movement in this country is because we've seen a lot of fracturing.
00:04:53.000I know you're from B.C., but in Ontario, we've got a very dis, I shouldn't say very, but a marginally disunited conservative movement because you've got these spinoff parties.
00:05:02.000Certainly at the federal level, we had the People's Party, which did a lot better in the last election than it did in the election prior.
00:05:08.000So what's your general assessment looking from that 30,000 foot view perspective on where the movement is?
00:05:14.000Look, I always go back and I'm dating myself.
00:05:16.000But when I graduated university in 1990, there was the Fraser Institute.
00:05:20.000There was the National Citizens Coalition.
00:05:22.000There has been an explosion of an ecosystem of conservative, free market, libertarian groups across the country.
00:05:28.000And I I've sort of lived through that and participated through it.
00:06:06.000And this is the one event in Canada once a year that everyone gets together, whether you're socially conservative, whether you're more libertarian.
00:06:13.000This is the broad cross section of the movement.
00:06:15.000And I think also there's just a great point here about how all of these groups have come together after two years of not being able to have these sorts of conferences.
00:06:23.000So I know they're I mean, a part of it is I think people would go to like a frozen food convention now, but you've also done a tremendous amount to really rebuild and energize a movement that, again, for the last couple of years, especially on the COVID issue, has been very challenging.
00:06:36.000So, well, we've been we've been online the last couple of years.
00:06:39.000Yeah. But, you know, I knew in my emails, in my texts and the phone conversation, I just sensed that there was a buzz.
00:06:45.000You know, 700 is usually the maximum we've ever had at this event.
00:07:07.000This is the former Manning Center that now Jamil is going to be taking over and leading at the Manning Foundation, which which has a set of activities and working with Preston.
00:07:16.000So I'll be staying involved with that.
00:07:17.000Secondstreet.org is another organization I'm involved with.
00:07:20.000I'll be spending more time with that and some consulting work and different things.
00:07:36.000I mean, I know I love talking to Jamil as well, as evidenced by the fact that I am about to do exactly that.
00:07:41.000But there is a very much a torch passing moment here as Troy steps back into his role now with the Manning Foundation and leaves this body here, the Canada Strong and Free Network,
00:07:51.000formerly the Manning Center to do the work moving forward, including putting on this conference, which I'm assuming is no easy undertaking.
00:07:58.000I've put together events and I know that something of this size takes a lot of time to put together.
00:08:03.000One thing that I think really struck me about what Troy was saying there, and it goes back to the Patrick Brown issue.
00:08:09.000Patrick Brown made a determination for whatever reason.
00:08:12.000Maybe he was afraid of going to the debate.
00:08:13.000Maybe he genuinely thinks he can get more votes selling memberships in Atlantic Canada, whatever the case is.
00:08:18.000But he didn't want to be in a room with conservatives, with movement conservatives.
00:08:24.000Is it that he doesn't want to take the questions?
00:08:26.000Is it that he doesn't want to be in the audience?
00:08:28.000Is it that he doesn't like the audience?
00:08:44.000That's because I was in Atlantic Canada growing our party where we need to win the next election.
00:08:48.000The debate was a two hour shouting match full of interruptions, mistruths and over the top attacks designed to score cheap social media sound bites.
00:08:56.000I'm sure Justin Trudeau loved every second of it, but I didn't and I doubt you did either.
00:09:01.000Now, I've talked to a lot of people here who said they did like the debate.
00:09:04.000And what they didn't like is Patrick Brown doing his Monday morning quarterbacking for a debate that he never participated in.
00:09:10.000Now, as many of you know, I'm hosting a debate on May 30th that the Independent Press Gallery is putting together.
00:09:16.000And Patrick Brown's been invited. He's not yet confirmed.
00:09:19.000In fact, I should point out that Pierre Polyev has not yet confirmed either.
00:18:57.000I also think that we see a lot of interesting things happening at the provincial level.
00:19:01.000I mean, there's seven centre-right provincial governments in this country.
00:19:05.000I think some of them, I would argue ours, we're doing some very important conservative policy reforms and innovations.
00:19:12.000I do think, though, COVID, let's be honest, COVID has divided a lot of conservatives.
00:19:18.000Understandably, you know, these centre-right provincial governments had to bring in restrictions that none of us wanted to,
00:19:26.000but we had to because of limited healthcare capacity.
00:19:28.000And that's upset some conservatives and more on the libertarian side of the spectrum.
00:19:32.000I hope we can put that behind us, learn some lessons and move forward.
00:19:35.000When you look at the leadership race, and I'm not going to ask you to play the role of pundit here,
00:19:39.000but just as Premier of Alberta in a field of candidates that doesn't have anyone that's really coming from the West,
00:19:45.000do you feel that Western issues have been given the attention they need and deserve in this race?
00:19:50.000Well, it's too early to say, this thing is going to go for a few more months.
00:19:55.000I saw the debate last night here at the conference and there was, I thought, a fair bit of focus on Alberta in particular and energy issues.
00:20:21.000So, you know, it would be nice to hear a little more detail from perhaps from some of the candidates.
00:20:27.000But I think, you know, the Federal Conservative Party understands the central role of the West in the Federation,
00:20:34.000the reasons for Western alienation and how Trudeau has damaged so deeply the resource industries that are so big in Western Canada.
00:20:41.000Obviously, when it comes to provincial autonomy, one of the most forceful voices against the Federal Government's invocation of the Emergencies Act,
00:20:49.000certainly as far as Premiers go, is yourself.
00:20:51.000What's the status of that, of how you would like as Premier and Alberta as a government would like to push for accountability on that?
00:20:58.000So we're the only government in Canada that is actually suing the Trudeau government for its invocation of the Emergencies Act through an application for intervener status
00:21:08.000in the cases filed by the Canadian Constitution Foundation and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
00:21:13.000And we're doing so because, well, first of all, we think it was a massive overreach and an unnecessary violation of people's civil liberties.
00:21:20.000But secondly, it was also an intrusion into provincial jurisdiction.
00:21:24.000I said to Justin Trudeau when he consulted the Premiers on using it, I said, well, if you're going to do that, don't do it in Alberta.
00:21:31.000Like, if you feel you need to, if the Premier of Ontario wants you to bring it in to deal with the situation in Ottawa,
00:21:36.000I suppose that's between you and him. But we don't need this in Alberta.
00:21:39.000In fact, he consulted us the day after the RCMP had dealt, had a tactical operation dealing with some potentially violent people at the Coutts border crossing.
00:21:49.000And my point was that police operation was done and the situation was resolved using normal legal powers, normal policing.
00:22:01.000We didn't need these extraordinary powers. We didn't need to freeze people's bank accounts arbitrarily in order to stop an illegal blockade at the border.
00:22:09.000So we didn't need it. It was massive overreach. And normally policing, of course, is provincial jurisdiction.
00:22:14.000I think it's an intervention into provincial jurisdiction as well. And we're always on guard against that.
00:22:20.000I know you were a very clear opponent of the trucker vaccine mandate, which is still in effect.
00:22:25.000At the debate last night, support for the convoy became something of a political football between some of the candidates.
00:22:31.000How's your view on that? Because you were supportive of the truckers at first. Are you still?
00:22:35.000Well, I was always in support. Of course, I'm in support of truckers and acknowledge the amazing things they've done to keep our economy rolling.
00:22:42.000But specifically the truckers that protested in Ottawa.
00:22:44.000I was supportive of their message, which was opposition to the pointless vaccine passport mandate to go into the U.S. and back.
00:22:52.000And a lot of other messages. I don't support illegal blockades. And I believe that lawmakers should not support lawbreakers.
00:23:02.000I don't think that's a contentious view. And I've always thought that people could have and should have made their point passionately through legal protest methods.
00:23:13.000And I don't think that's a difficult nuance to say support much of the message, but not breaking the law and inconvenience others.
00:23:20.000And, you know, I was just walking through the shopping mall here thinking about all of those small businesses and hundreds of workers who were put out of work for three weeks because of that protest.
00:23:29.000So there were there were negative social and economic impacts on other people's rights. And I just hope people remember that in the future.