Lewis questions if Poilievre is a genuine supporter of the Freedom Convoy
Episode Stats
Words per minute
158.3591
Summary
In this episode of Leadership Candidates, I sit down with Jason Kenney to discuss the first Conservative leadership debate, his thoughts on the debate, and his plans for the future of the party and Canada. Candidates Kenney is a former Conservative MP from Ontario and Quebec, and is running to become Prime Minister of Canada in the next election.
Transcript
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So what was your feeling about the debate, the first debate of the leadership race?
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I thought it went very well, and I thought I executed and answered the questions with great proficiency.
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We've seen in the last week the importation of an American debate in the overturning or potential overturning of Roe v. Wade
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and the federal government in Canada responding by doubling down on protecting abortion rights in this country.
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If you're the Conservative leader, how do you lead the party and the country through that debate?
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Well, I will definitely have free votes because it's an issue of conscience.
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And I have really laid out what my policies are on abortion.
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It is such a polarizing issue, and we need to build bridges.
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There are so many people that are pro-choice, that have very similar views with some people who are pro-life.
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And my policies of helping pregnancy care centres and preventing coerced abortion and fighting misogyny within the womb,
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preferring a boy over a girl, fighting against that stereotype, these types of policies are unifying.
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So I don't think that it is something that needs to divide Canadians.
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I see that there's commonality and we can build bridges.
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One of the sources of contrast in the debate was an exchange between you and Pierre Polyev about the trucker convoy.
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And you, as I took it anyway, were accusing him of not really being a genuine supporter of the movement.
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Well, my problem is that as Conservatives, when we are afraid of labels,
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like you heard somebody else talk about conspiracy theories, then we start to do things.
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Like if we're quoting, saying something about the trucker convoy, you use quotations,
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And that gives you an opportunity to backtrack.
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You can't jump onto something if you truly believe in freedom.
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Jump onto it when it's politically expedient to do so.
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If you are the leader, you're going to go up against a media that, as we've seen in the last three elections,
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is tremendously hostile to Conservatives, was hostile to the convoy, is hostile to social Conservatives.
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How do you prevent the Conservatives from going through another electoral loss
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when you are in this climate that's just not receptive to Conservatism, it seems?
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Well, part of it is our problem, because we don't push back.
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We allow debates to be closed in a free and democratic society.
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I try to form policies that will benefit all Canadians.
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And so I'm not embarrassed about what my Conservative policies are.
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So there's nothing that the media could attack me on, because my policies are going to be out there for them.
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If you're going through the race, I know it came up tonight, you're an Ontario Member of Parliament.
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It's a field of Ontario and one Quebec Member of Parliament.
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How do you unite the country, winning support in Quebec, winning support in Western Canada,
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when this seems to have been a sticking point for governments and parties in the past?
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Well, I did very well in the West, because I have deep Conservative values.
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And I think it's very important to make sure that we don't have this Ottawa bubble mentality.
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We have to formulate policies that will really highlight the strengths of various regions
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If you are successful and you become the Prime Minister,
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any of the people up on the stage with you tonight, would they be in your Cabinet?
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I respect all of them that have put their name forwards.
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And I think that they're all competent in what they do.