Juno News - Leslyn Lewis says she's running on principles and respect for others

00:00:00.000 And joining me now is the Haldimand Norfolk Member of Parliament and second-time Conservative

00:00:13.600 Leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis. Leslyn, good to talk to you again. Thanks for coming on.

00:00:18.740 Thanks for having me, Andrew.

00:00:20.180 So obviously you came in the last leadership race as a relative political unknown to become

00:00:26.200 quite nationally known, not just in the Conservative movement in Canada, but also

00:00:30.460 Canadian politics more broadly. Why are you running again now? What do you think is going

00:00:34.780 to be different that might give you the victory this time around?

00:00:38.620 Well, I'm running again because I'm very concerned with the direction of our country.

00:00:44.080 I think that there's just too much demonization in our policies and pitting Canadians against each

00:00:50.900 other. I'm concerned with the fracturing that I see happening in the different regions and within

00:00:56.820 society. And coming out of COVID, I think that we need someone who is going to unite us and focus on

00:01:04.680 policies that instill hope and compassion and confidence. And I have the expertise that I feel

00:01:11.920 that I would like to dedicate with finding environmental solutions, economic solutions.

00:01:18.320 I'm concerned with our $1.3 trillion of debt. And issues of fundamental freedoms are very,

00:01:26.260 very important to me right now also.

00:01:28.860 Yes, the last time you and I spoke, it was actually at the trucker convoy that very first weekend when

00:01:34.800 a lot of people in this country who felt they had not been heard, they were not being respected.

00:01:39.540 And in the case of Justin Trudeau's comments, we're being actively disrespected. All these people said,

00:01:44.940 you know what, we have to take a stand. And you were one of, at the beginning, a small number

00:01:49.220 of members of parliament that were prepared to go out and meet with these people. How do you ensure

00:01:54.640 that the divisions that led to that don't continue both inside the party and also just in Canadian

00:02:00.420 society in general? Well, I think it's very important that when people are hurting, when they're

00:02:06.840 traumatized, when they're trying to find solutions. And you have to remember many of these people,

00:02:12.860 they reached out to their member of parliament. I received hundreds, probably I would say thousands

00:02:19.180 of letters from people who were concerned about the direction of the country. And all they wanted

00:02:26.960 is for their elected officials whom they're paying their salaries to listen to them. And some of them

00:02:33.340 drove from clear across the country from places like BC. And for me, it just wasn't, it wasn't too much

00:02:40.420 to just listen to what they had to say. And I think that it was a very, very grave mistake

00:02:46.580 for our prime minister not to listen and not to even, even they have some of his ministers go

00:02:55.560 and meet with them and listen to what they had to say, because they are regular Canadians.

00:03:01.060 They work with their hands. They are concerned about the future of the country.

00:03:05.900 Many of them are not sitting in their cottages with a MacBook on a computer during COVID. Some of

00:03:14.480 them were out of work and the mandates and our policies directly affect them in different ways

00:03:21.380 than it affects someone who's working in the office. And so I think it's very, very important

00:03:25.800 to listen to their concerns. Looking at the trajectory that led to there being a conservative

00:03:31.720 leadership race right now, the conservative performance in the last election, the caucus

00:03:36.580 vote to expel Aaron O'Toole. Do you feel the Conservative Party of Canada has done a good job

00:03:42.580 in engaging not just the type of people that were protesting as part of the convoy, but in general,

00:03:47.880 people that may represent different factions of Canadian society and the conservative movement?

00:03:52.980 And if the party's not doing a good enough job, what would you bring to the table to change that?

00:03:57.340 Well, I do see our party as a microcosm of society. We're a big tent party. And so we have different

00:04:05.700 people within our party with divergent beliefs. And I think that that is very, very important to keep

00:04:14.960 the essence of that in our society as something that's important to our democracy. So it's very

00:04:22.260 important that even though I may have a different opinion than you, that you don't demonize me and I

00:04:29.140 don't demonize you, that we hear our different perspectives. And sometimes in hearing and listening,

00:04:35.900 you find policies that we both agree on. But that's not where things are going. Right now, I see if you

00:04:42.920 vote against a piece of legislation because the legislation is poorly drafted, people will label

00:04:47.880 you, oh, you're anti this group, anti that group. Well, it may have been just, it was a poor piece

00:04:52.840 of legislation. And so we have to move away from these labels and the demonization and pitting people

00:05:00.200 against each other. And I think that if we're going to survive as a nation beyond COVID and come out of

00:05:08.360 COVID, a united country, I think that we really do have to focus on working together and bringing the

00:05:17.080 different regions and the different factions within our party within our nation together.

00:05:23.320 You're unique among the others who have announced leadership campaigns and that you were in a similar

00:05:28.220 spot just two years ago, is the platform that you're going to run on in this leadership going to

00:05:33.300 be essentially a clone or a bringing forward what you ran on in 2020? Or are you trying a different

00:05:39.220 approach this time? Well, I believe in the platform that I ran on. And so there are aspects of it that

00:05:46.040 are going to be the same. But I would say just stay tuned. I think there'll be some things that

00:05:52.040 are the same and there'll be some surprises also. But we haven't fully put out our platform as yet,

00:05:57.480 but we will be in short time. On social issues, you had a very candid approach. I know you had a lot

00:06:06.080 of support from social conservatives in the party, from some social conservative groups, and you had put

00:06:11.320 forward a plan on abortion that had no hidden agenda. You laid out all your points. Is that

00:06:16.280 something you see yourself campaigning on this time around as well? Yeah, Andrew, you know, issues like

00:06:22.380 abortion are very polarizing. And actually, I don't think they have to be because I have a lot of friends

00:06:28.220 who are pro-choice. And there are a number of issues that we actually, when we sit down and we talk,

00:06:35.920 that we agree on. So what I've done is, I know that not every woman, not every person, 0.97

00:06:42.240 not every Canadian is going to agree with my personal beliefs on the issue. And so I like to

00:06:49.480 ask people, well, what do you believe on the issue? And then find commonalities. So for example,

00:06:56.080 pregnancy care center, caring for our most vulnerable women, women who may not have had,

00:07:02.580 may not have planned their pregnancy, to have care centers that are there to assist them in their

00:07:09.380 time of need, the majority of women agree on. The majority of women also agree that

00:07:14.560 we shouldn't promote misogyny in our society. And so targeting a baby girl in the womb, because she's a 1.00

00:07:24.680 girl, the majority of people agree that that that's not right. And so sex selective abortion is

00:07:31.000 something that the majority of Canadians, I think 78% agree on. And so there are things that the

00:07:38.480 majority of Canadians do agree on. And it doesn't have to necessarily be a polarizing issue. I think

00:07:43.320 politicians like for it to be, because then they can pit people against each other. But I think that

00:07:51.840 if we find common ground issues that we agree on, then you can form policies around that. And there

00:07:58.780 shouldn't be anything hidden about it. We shouldn't have a hidden agenda about what kind of policies

00:08:04.660 we believe are in the betterment of all Canadians. You just laid out a very sensible approach. I think

00:08:11.660 some people might disagree. I think a lot of people, even those that aren't in a camp, so to speak,

00:08:16.440 would also find agreement in perhaps some of those spaces. At the same time, conservative leaders,

00:08:22.060 especially the last two elections, have not communicated all that clearly. The conservative

00:08:27.600 platform and the conservative vision. And I look at the last election where at the very beginning of

00:08:32.480 it, people had some concrete pledges that were in there that by the end of the campaign in 2021 had

00:08:38.120 been abandoned by Aaron O'Toole. So how do you tell people that you're not going to go down the road

00:08:43.100 that your predecessors would have gone down, that when you make these pledges in the leadership,

00:08:47.520 these are going to be the same pledges that you campaign on in a general, and if you win,

00:08:51.680 the same pledges you'd run on as a prime minister? I think people know me and they know that

00:08:58.000 there's a level of authenticity there and that I will stand up for positions, even if it's going to

00:09:04.600 cost me, even if I'm penalized for it, because I believe in those positions. I believe that those

00:09:11.300 positions are in the best interest of our country. And so I also believe in democracy. I believe I trust

00:09:18.560 the democratic process. I trust our members. And so when our members have policies such as the carbon

00:09:26.580 tax, I think that it's very, very important that if you make a pledge saying that I am not going to

00:09:33.160 have an individual carbon tax and the members have supported that, that you recognize that the reason

00:09:40.860 why we got there is because of an analysis that the majority of people that will be most, uh, suffer

00:09:49.020 the most burden of the carbon tax or the average, the average person, the average Canadian who is

00:09:55.980 heating their home, who's driving to work. And so it's, it's an issue of, do you want to just continue

00:10:02.540 to tax people to change their behavior? Or do you want to have different policies such as education

00:10:08.540 to encourage a change of behavior? Because we're going to get to a point where Pete,

00:10:15.420 it's no longer sustainable to continue to tax people. And so I trust the membership that they

00:10:21.740 invoke policies and they come up with policies that are of benefit to the majority of Canadians.

00:10:29.820 But then there are other issues like conscience rights issues, Andrew, that the membership may come

00:10:35.340 up with a conscience rights issues. And I believe that, um, there should be free votes on issues of

00:10:40.940 conscience. And so I wouldn't, uh, whip caucus on, on issues of conscience. So there, there's a

00:10:47.260 distinction in, in, in the policies. You mentioned being prepared to take a stand, even if it costs you.

00:10:55.820 So this, I think lends itself very well to a question I wanted to ask you about electability here.

00:11:00.860 Again, the last three elections, Justin Trudeau has defeated conservatives, even when people were

00:11:05.740 very optimistic. Is there a strategy you have as a leadership candidate that you'd take to a general

00:11:11.980 on, on how you break through the walls that conservatives have been up, up against, whether

00:11:17.100 it's in Quebec or the GTA or parts of British Columbia? Is there a path to victory that you're

00:11:22.220 planning on and, and a way that you could tell members, yeah, I'm not just going to be a solid

00:11:26.060 conservative leader, but I'm going to win. And here's how. Yeah. Well, I think it's, it's forming

00:11:31.500 policies that unite Canadians. I see that the, the lines of partisanship are, are really, really

00:11:38.540 shifting. People are more focused on policies and principles rather than party loyalty. And I witnessed

00:11:47.580 that from, from the last election, just knocking at the doors and Canadians want to know that you are

00:11:53.580 going to implement policies that are in the best interest of all Canadians that unite Canada and that

00:12:01.420 they can prosper and get back to the way things were where people are working and they're making a living

00:12:09.740 where we are self-sufficient and we're not reliant on other countries for our natural resources. And, and

00:12:19.260 in times of a pandemic, we, we have supplies that, that could, that could assist our population. And so

00:12:27.580 we need to get our house in order. And I believe that a focus on that is very, very important from our

00:12:36.380 party. I also believe that we also need to reach out to the growing demographics of our country in urban

00:12:45.020 centers and focus, focus on those centers and, and let the people know that there's a place for them in

00:12:51.980 our party and that our party is really a microcosm of society where we have diverse perspectives and

00:13:00.460 diverse beliefs and, and you're welcome with your beliefs within our party.

00:13:04.940 Now, how do you go after, uh, and this is not just about ethnic diversity, but diverse voters

00:13:11.900 in general, whether it's people that have different economic situations, different religions,

00:13:16.220 different racial backgrounds, whatever the case may be, how do you go after communities and offer

00:13:21.100 a unifying message without it going down that road of, of identity politics and, and pandering

00:13:26.620 that I think oftentimes conservatives reject when we see the liberals doing it?

00:13:31.020 I think that Canadians, we generally are looking for very similar things. The average Canadian,

00:13:38.860 whether they're an immigrant, they, or they were born here, they want to be able to provide for

00:13:44.940 their families. They want to be left alone for the government from the government to leave them alone.

00:13:50.860 What a concept so that they can live their lives and, and practice their faith without government

00:13:58.140 interference and raise their children in accordance with their values. And they also want to know that

00:14:04.540 when they pay their taxes, the government is responsible and respects them and that there will

00:14:10.620 be programs there for them in the future. And right now, all of that is in jeopardy because with 1.3

00:14:17.100 trillion dollars of debt, we don't know whether or not our social programs even will be sustainable. And so

00:14:26.060 that brings a lot of concern for vulnerable populations like the elderly, people on disability,

00:14:33.100 and our, our, our veterans. These are areas and people that, that want to know that government is

00:14:43.900 responsible and, and that they're securing the future for them.

00:14:49.980 Just finally, Leslyn, I, I had Pierre Polyev on the other day and I asked him about some of the

00:14:54.300 competitors in the race and he had very kind words to say about you as a, a formidable force in the

00:14:59.180 Conservative Caucus. Just looking at the competition here, whether it's Jean Charest or Pierre Polyev

00:15:04.380 or Roman Babber, Patrick Brown, are these all people that you could work with conceivably with

00:15:09.820 you as leader and them in your caucus, or if you're not successful that either one of them

00:15:14.220 as leader and you in their caucus, is this a race that you think is full of friendly opponents?

00:15:19.980 Well, I think that the, the beauty about our party is that you could have four different candidates and

00:15:27.020 they all believe four different things and that's the beauty. So I think it's very important for our

00:15:32.780 democratic process that our members see the divergent perspectives within the, the leadership race.

00:15:41.340 And I have the utmost respect for anybody who puts their name in because it's, it's, it's a lot of work

00:15:49.980 and it's a lot of sacrifice. And it's, for me, it's, it's a labor of love, um, extending my resources,

00:15:57.580 my time to the membership so that they can see that there is somebody that reflects their point of

00:16:06.300 view. And I'm sure that the other candidates have, um, are going to have very strong platforms

00:16:13.580 and that we, we're not going to agree on everything, but I think that that's a part of, uh, unifying our

00:16:21.100 party that we are able, no matter who gets in, that we are able to get behind that person and work

00:16:28.780 towards making sure that we win the next election and that we restore confidence and faith and, and

00:16:35.740 hope, um, for Canadians.

00:16:37.660 Haldeman Norfolk Member of Parliament and Conservative Leadership Candidate Leslyn Lewis.

00:16:42.780 Leslyn, thanks very much for your time.

00:16:44.220 Thank you so much, Andrew.

00:16:45.820 Thanks for listening to The Andrew Lawton Show. Support the program by donating to

00:16:50.060 True North at www.tnc.news.

Juno News - March 15, 2022

Leslyn Lewis says she's running on principles and respect for others

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