00:02:03.200But I'll tell you, the last thing that really got under their skin is I have been actively organizing for this upcoming convention.
00:02:09.460And they know that I have recruited many, many, many delegates and they were scared.
00:02:17.340And so there, you know, this whole thing about, you know, you know, not listening to other people.
00:02:22.400So when I was emailing and trying to get conventions to go to delegates, other MPs would be like, oh, well, you know,
00:02:28.760why are you emailing into my riding and why are you doing this?
00:02:31.540Nobody has a monopoly on their riding.
00:02:34.940You as a Canadian, I as a Canadian, we have the right to encourage political participation.
00:02:39.160And, you know, some of these MPs were upset that, you know, basically I had more sway in their riding than they did.
00:02:45.900And they they got rid of me because of that.
00:02:48.640And obviously they don't agree with the the the different things that I stand for.
00:02:52.960So, you know, he'll find a, you know, a politically correct version of a socially conservative person or any of the other things maybe that I've stood for.
00:03:01.680And I've stood for things far beyond a social conservatism.
00:03:04.680But this is about the values that I stand for, you know, being against the Paris Agreement, being against this net zero stuff and my influence at the convention.
00:03:15.320They were afraid that it was going to be a Derek Sloan convention and they pulled the plug.
00:03:19.700This is a direct affront to grassroots engagement.
00:03:23.100Do you know how much support, if any, you had in caucus in today's vote?
00:03:28.300I was not privy to the numbers, unfortunately.
00:03:30.960It was no, I don't believe anybody other than the caucus chair knows the final numbers.
00:03:35.980Now, does that in and of itself disturb you or is that just how the process is supposed to work?
00:03:42.180You know, I know the caucus chair well and he's an honorable person, Tom Kimmich.
00:03:54.720Do you think from private conversations you've had with MPs in the Conservative Caucus that this was literally just about getting a SOCON out?
00:04:04.600Or did you actually get support from non-social conservatives privately that said they didn't like the process?
00:04:10.720They didn't like that you were being blamed for someone who happened to donate alongside 12,999 other people to your campaign?
00:04:18.480Yeah, I mean, listen, there were a lot of people that were upset by this for sure.
00:04:23.460The problem is, is that Aaron O'Toole sort of crossed the Rubicon when he made the public statement that he was behind this.
00:04:30.320So then the caucus literally had to say, well, listen, I don't really want to kick Derek out.
00:04:35.160But if I don't, then we show weakness to the to the public.
00:04:39.020So let's say they voted to keep me in.
00:04:41.780Then the press cycle would have been Aaron O'Toole doesn't even have control over his own party.
00:04:45.840They don't even like, you know, they don't trust his judgment.
00:04:48.780So he he took the strongest step possible to eliminate me by doing a full frontal assault publicly.
00:04:55.620And so I'm sure there's a lot of people that wouldn't have done this in in other circumstances that felt kind of compelled.
00:05:01.520Now, it's still a wrong decision, but they felt compelled because of his doubling down in that in that way.
00:05:07.180Right. Now, that statement I shared a couple of moments ago from Aaron O'Toole that says this is all part of a pattern.
00:05:13.100You've said this is stuff that's already been made public.
00:06:31.740And frankly, for my EDA, I had to raise some money, too, to be able to be, you know, acclaimed as a candidate.
00:06:36.740So those are the those are two of the, quote, unquote, you know, bad things that I've done.
00:06:41.580And the third was sponsoring that petition, which, again, a lot of these conservatives are just scared to death of bad press.
00:06:49.980So, you know, these kinds of things, there were some rumblings about, oh, you know, Derek's always getting us in the news.
00:06:54.700It's always something, you know, whatever.
00:06:56.880And then this sort of orchestrated attempt at the end, which, as I said, was related to my strength going into the convention, sort of pushed some people over the edge.
00:07:07.220But nothing has happened along the way that would in any way be inappropriate.
00:07:13.780I've just explained to you any charge that was leveled on me.
00:07:18.520So let me ask you then where you go from here, because you sent out an email to your supporters in which you said, don't rip up your memberships, still be a part of the party, still go to the convention, the virtual convention up.
00:07:31.540Why are you not ripping up your membership at this point?
00:07:34.560Well, listen, I'm still a conservative.
00:07:36.420I may not be technically capital C conservative, according to, you know, the powers that be in Ottawa, but the Conservative Party has left me.
00:07:46.260I did not leave the Conservative Party.
00:07:48.500And our membership is a lot more like me than they are like Aaron O'Toole.
00:07:52.400And frankly, I think the only reason he won is because, yeah, I was a new face.
00:08:29.980What many people were concerned about is they were saying, guys, I'm getting calls not just from like the local pro-life dude, but from some of my like most hardcore supporters, board members, donors.
00:08:43.460So this is something that is really going to rip the party.
00:08:48.060You know, it's going to damage the party for certain.
00:08:51.140You and I spoke in the leadership race a couple of times about cancel culture and free speech.
00:08:57.100And you're very aware of the cultural battles around this.
00:09:00.600And one thing that I find really unsettling, even if people are used to just the left throwing around slurs and names and all of that, to have it come from within your own party and within your own movement.
00:09:11.260And especially the justification that Aaron O'Toole used to initiate this process, which was that racism has no place in the party.
00:09:19.100Didn't call you a racist, but was ejecting you in the same breath as he was saying that he needed to take a stand against racism.
00:09:38.460It's been amazing acceptance from grassroots conservatives and continual backbiting and trying to tie my hands behind my back within the MPs that are there.
00:09:49.860So many of these guys think that they're little princes that rule their little riding fiefdom.
00:09:55.340And they can come to Ottawa and do whatever it is that they want.
00:10:15.260Would you rejoin the caucus if invited, if the party had a mea culpa?
00:10:19.760I don't expect that that would happen under the current leadership.
00:10:23.860They're of a mind that they kind of have to, you know, show unity, show a face of strength and all that.
00:10:30.680And they wouldn't be able to do that based on what they've done.
00:10:33.500But I'm not making any decisions today about what I might or might not do.
00:10:37.360Just before I let you go here, Derek, what do you want to tell your supporters?
00:10:41.360I know a lot of people, even those who might not have been your supporter in the leadership race, have really come around or are tweeting about their support for you, wanting to go to the convention to stand up for some of the values.
00:10:52.260What do you want to say to those people right now who, by your indication, seem to make up the party more than the voices in Ottawa do?
00:11:14.260When it comes to me personally, I'm going to stay fighting for all the values I've fought for before.
00:11:18.780Family values, you know, against the Paris Agreement and this climate alarmism, the excessive government lockdowns, which our party has been completely silent on.