Candice Bergen on carbon tax, vaccine mandates, and Trudeau's NDP ＂lap dogs＂
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Summary
Candace Bergen, who is the interim leader of the Conservatives, joins us on the Andrew Lawton Show to talk about her transition from House Leader to Opposition Leader, and her plans for the future of the party.
Transcript
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Welcome back to the Andrew Lawton Show here on True North.
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As I mentioned earlier, very pleased to have joining us Candace Bergen,
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who is the interim leader of the Conservatives.
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Now, if you haven't been paying attention to Canadian politics in the last couple of months,
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you'll know this came about somewhat abruptly as Aaron O'Toole was removed
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by his caucus members in the midst of the trucker convoy.
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And again, I think there were a number of factors there,
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but certainly that was one of the leading ones here.
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Candace, good to talk to you again. Thanks very much.
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And it's been a little while, so congratulations.
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I've not spoken to you since you've ascended to this position, but thank you.
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Thanks, Andrew. Yeah, it's been, I kind of joke,
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wow, it's been a pretty quiet month here in Ottawa.
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Sarcastic, not at all quiet, very busy, a lot going on.
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But it's been productive and there's a lot of good work that I think we've been able to do.
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Obviously, the Conservative Party went through this change with Aaron O'Toole being removed
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and then you being selected as the interim leader very quickly.
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Because you've come into this position in the midst of the convoy.
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We have a number of political challenges in Canada,
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plus the Conservative Party is obviously going through changes.
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Well, I'm fortunate because of the roles that I've had previously under with Ronna Ambrose,
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Andrew Scheer, and then with Aaron O'Toole as House Leader and then going on as Deputy Leader,
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I really have a good idea of what the leadership role is.
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And so I was literally able to hit the ground running.
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The Wednesday when everything happened, it was a very quick day.
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We had a question period right after our caucus meeting and then we had the vote for the interim leader
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And you're right, we had the convoy out here in Ottawa and issues that we had to address right away.
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It was a very much hands-on, all hands-on-deck kind of mentality
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and everybody rallied around and we were able to tackle some of the difficult issues.
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In terms of my priorities, Andrew, I'll tell you, I believe first and foremost my job is to keep our caucus united.
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And when I say united, that doesn't mean that we always agree on everything.
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I think that it's a myth to think that we can always agree or all be on exactly the same page on every issue.
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I think, in fact, that's kind of the liberal way of doing things.
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They think everybody has to agree or somehow it doesn't work.
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As Conservatives, we're going to disagree and we're going to have different opinions, and I think that makes us better.
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But as a caucus, we can talk about it, come to certain positions, and then be disciplined and focused in what we're doing for Canadians.
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So that's really been my goal, and then also ensure that Conservatives are proud to be Conservative.
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I think that we have a lot to be proud of as Conservatives, our values, our principles, the foundation that makes us Conservative.
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So I want Conservatives to be proud to be Conservatives and excited about what we're doing.
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Clearly, that approach to caucus management that you just described didn't exist.
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Caucus members felt under Aaron O'Toole's leadership, which is why there was enough discontent that he was removed under the Reform Act.
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So how do you, moving forward from that, correct that?
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How do you keep the caucus together, the different factions of the party, and also the membership and the base beyond the caucus across the country?
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Well, I was also fortunate to work under Stephen Harper in his government and in his cabinet, and I found Stephen Harper, although a very strong leader, and he knew the direction he wanted to go.
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He really set an example for how to collaborate and work with the caucus, and that was as a prime minister.
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Ronna Ambrose continued that, and other leaders have done that, and I find that that's the best way to approach issues, whether it's legislation the government is bringing forward,
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whether it's issues that we as a caucus have to deal with.
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We have a very intelligent, principled, hard-working group of men and women here in Ottawa who are Conservative MPs,
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and I just find it's the best approach is to consult with them.
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So we have a good process whereby we do that through our shadow cabinet process.
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We have priorities of the planning committee, and then caucus meets regularly.
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And I ask them what they think, and I take their advice and tell them what I'm thinking,
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and then I find that whether I was House leader or deputy leader or now as leader,
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that is the best approach to finding consensus and moving forward.
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This is, of course, a huge issue that I think, not just for Canada and for Ottawa,
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but for the Conservative movement in this country.
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You had, I think, the Conservative base that has been for the last year certainly very fervently against the vaccine mandates,
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the vaccine passports, not feeling like there was a voice in the official opposition on those issues.
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I even played on my show yesterday your exchange with the Prime Minister in the House of Commons
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from question period yesterday about that very idea.
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But how do you take that and, as the interim leader, make sure that those people continue to be heard?
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Because what I've been hearing for the last two years, especially since the last election and through the last election,
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was that Conservatives in Canada, and I use that with a small C and a big C,
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did not feel like their interests were being represented by the Conservative Party of Canada.
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Well, you know, I know I'm from one of the strongest Conservative ridings in the country,
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Southern Manitoba, and I talked to so many people, first of all, explaining the difference between
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provincial vaccine mandates and federal vaccine mandates and the fact that as a federal representative,
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I had no impact or power over what provinces did.
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But as a federal MP, I could sure stand up against Trudeau's federal mandatory vaccines.
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I believe Conservatives were all clear on that during the election.
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Some would say we could have been gone out on it more.
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What I do know is when Trudeau threatened and then implemented the vaccine on truck,
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the vaccine mandate on truckers, that very much went against Conservative policy.
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And so we could very strongly support the spirit of what the truckers and their supporters
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I believe that's what government and opposition leaders should do.
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I think if Trudeau had done a little more of that, instead of calling them names and wedging,
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dividing and stigmatizing, we would not have gotten into the situation that we were in
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with the truckers here for as long as they were.
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We also did believe, and we do believe, that we need to be following the laws of the land.
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And that was why we said to the truckers and their supporters, don't blockade borders.
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And move the trucks because you can't be parked illegally.
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We support your fight against mandatory vaccines, but we don't believe you should be doing things illegally.
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And so now as we're moving forward, and I asked the Prime Minister about this recently,
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And, you know, I said kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it's actually true.
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They always say they're so progressive and, you know, ahead of the times.
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They're actually looking very old-fashioned right now in their approach to vaccine mandates.
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It's actually about what's good for our economy.
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It's about what's good for Canadians' mental health.
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It's Canadians need to be free to live their lives.
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And the mandates and the restrictions have to be lifted federally.
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I'm appreciative that you don't want to spend too much time looking into the past here,
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but I do want to talk about one contrast between the Conservative Party of a few months ago
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and a position that we've heard from you and also your colleagues in caucus in the last couple of weeks,
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and that's a very firm position against the carbon tax.
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And I know with everything else that's been going on in Canada and the world,
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this hasn't necessarily been the top-of-mind issue on the political agenda,
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but for Canadians that are paying their heating bills, it certainly is an issue.
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And again, talk to me a little bit about where the Conservatives are on this,
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Conservative Canadians were fairly confident that your party was against the carbon tax,
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that then it ran on a version of a carbon price that people have said,
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the Canadian Taxpayers Federation have said, was a carbon tax.
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So where is the party now? Where are you now on this?
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Well, Andrew, I think you are right in that there are a lot of things that Canadians are watching on the news
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and very concerned about, but they're still going up and filling up their tanks
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and buying groceries and seeing that the cost of everything is going up
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So Conservatives are very concerned with inflation and increased taxes on Canadians.
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Leadership candidates will articulate their belief on how we best fight
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They can talk about their ideas and the electorate,
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the membership will support their ideas or not.
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So I'm going back just to the basics of what our grassroots party has determined.
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We certainly don't support a Liberal carbon tax
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that does absolutely nothing to reduce emissions anywhere
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and only hurts Canadian energy, oil, gas and Canadian consumers.
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And I think right now when we see what's going on with Putin
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and the fact that Putin has been able to monopolize the sale of gas to Europe, for example,
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So we're not only talking about how that hurts the environment,
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but just as importantly, and I would say more importantly right now,
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the safety, sovereignty and energy security of the world.
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When Canada is cut out, whether it's through a carbon tax or other measures
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that the Liberal government has put on our sector, it hurts the world.
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But basically to say on policies like this, I'm in a safe place
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when I stick with our grassroots policy and then let the candidates articulate
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their particular views on these kinds of issues.
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Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the Russia approach
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because I know that the Prime Minister did come out this week
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and say that we're going to cancel imports of crude from Russia.
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But I would say, first off, it shouldn't have taken an invasion of Ukraine
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to start talking about reducing our dependency on foreign oil,
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especially when we have the capability and capacity in Canada
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I know obviously Canadian politicians don't have as direct control
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over what the United States does, but we can represent Canada's interests.
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and especially when I talk to Albertans and people from Saskatchewan about this,
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when we could develop our sector so much more than it is right now.
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And, you know, it's not only our dependency or even that we're still using it,
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it's the fact that we have no champions in our country.
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We should have a Prime Minister who goes to other countries and says,
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do not ever lecture us about oil and gas or emissions
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because Canada is the leader when it comes to extracting
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and transporting the cleanest oil, gas, and LNG in the world.
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And so we allow the world to scold and really reprimand us,
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even in the way that they, where there's investment, insurance,
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all kinds of other measures that they're using to try to constrain
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And if we had a leader who would say, no, enough of that, that's nonsense,
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and actually point out the big polluters in the world,
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and then ensure that our oil and gas is promoted and used.
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So that's only, it's just one piece of it, but it's, I'm glad that we're at least
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And I think more and more people are seeing that when Canadian oil and gas
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is kept in the ground and Putin is able to sell his, you know, look at what he's doing.
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Look at the, look at the billions of dollars he has,
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he has, and he's using it right now to kill and destroy Ukrainian people
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And that's a hard fact to face up to, but it's, it's the truth.
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Just looking forward to some of the other items on the political agenda here in Canada,
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We know just looking at it in practice in Ottawa, that civil liberties were affected,
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press freedoms were affected, peaceful assembly was affected.
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And obviously the parliamentary oversight of this tended to just disappear when,
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just as the Senate was weighing this, Justin Trudeau decided that the emergency no longer existed.
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I know the Emergencies Act does require a report, an investigation of this after the fact,
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but, but realistically, does Justin Trudeau get away with this now by declaring the emergency over?
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Well, we, we believe that there absolutely should be.
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We, we did not support the use of the Emergencies Act.
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We, you know, we looked at it and, and found out very quickly that all of the laws were in place that needed to be.
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He had, and law enforcement had the laws that they needed to clear,
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I mean, they obviously did it, they did it before the Emergencies Act,
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but they had what they needed to clear the, the trucks from Ottawa.
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Trudeau was in a political emergency, and so he invoked the Emergencies Act.
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In terms of oversight, we're in Ottawa this week.
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We then have a two-week previously scheduled riding break where we're in our ridings.
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But I'm going to tell you this, Andrew, Conservatives are not finished talking about this and holding the Prime Minister to account.
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He's trying to, Jerry, really, I guess the word would be,
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he's trying to manipulate the committee to make sure that he's got enough,
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the NDP, who are basically his lapdogs on this.
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They're probably going to be helping, helping chair the committee,
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and we will not let the Prime Minister get away with doing this.
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But I will say this, Andrew, we cannot do it alone.
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We need people who are talking about this, holding their MPs to account.
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If you have a Liberal or an NDP MP representing you,
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you need to tell them that what they did wasn't acceptable.
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We need people speaking out loudly, clearly, and forcefully about this.
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Obviously, in a democratic country, doing it legally, safely,
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I know there's lots more coming up in the next few weeks and months.
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So we'd love to get you back on the show to talk about some of those.
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I know they are very significant for free speech,
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and I've appreciated conversations I've had in the past with you about that.
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Candice Bergen, Interim Leader of the Conservatives,
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Thanks for listening to The Andrew Lawton Show.
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Support the program by donating to True North at www.tnc.nons.
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