Juno News - Portage–Lisgar Conservative candidate says Bernier is an “opportunist”

00:00:00.000 I want to do a bit of a follow-up to a discussion we started off last week

00:00:12.080 about the Portage-Lisker by-election, one of the safest Conservative seats historically,

00:00:17.680 and it is now up for grabs because Candace Bergen, the former interim leader of the Conservatives,

00:00:24.000 has stepped back from politics. The Conservative candidate Brandon Leslie joins us now.

00:00:28.940 Brandon, good to talk to you. Thanks for coming on today.

00:00:32.240 Awesome. Well, thanks for having me here, Andrew. Pleasure to be here.

00:00:34.840 So let's just, because it is a timely issue and we were talking about the China file here,

00:00:39.640 is this one that actually people talk about at the doors, or is this this bubble issue

00:00:45.080 where politicos and media types care about it, but it doesn't necessarily come top of mind

00:00:50.040 for the average person in Portage-Lisker?

00:00:52.960 You'd be surprised, perhaps. It actually, election integrity, I think starting for the last couple

00:00:58.120 of years, you know, these rumours that have kind of emerged, and now we're seeing real hard evidence

00:01:01.820 emerge. Election interference and the ability to have free and fair elections in a democratic

00:01:07.140 nation like Canada actually has been a big issue at the doors. People are very upset, and I was

00:01:12.720 door-knocking yesterday, and I hadn't heard the outcome of David Johnson's decision until I was

00:01:19.060 informed at the door by somebody telling me how ridiculous they thought it was that, you know,

00:01:24.080 the hand-picked individual by the Prime Minister had come to this conclusion that there was no need

00:01:29.440 for a public inquiry, that they were going to do some sort of further investigation, and that

00:01:34.240 individual that informed me found it rather appalling. So yeah, short answer to your, long answer to your

00:01:38.360 short question, it is coming up at the door. The integrity of our elections matters to folks in

00:01:42.640 Portage-Lisker, and I think right across the nation.

00:01:45.420 Why is it you decided to step up now and run?

00:01:48.500 I would say largely because I'm fed up, and you know, that has been something that has been echoed

00:01:54.240 at the doorsteps for the last number of months, obviously starting with the nomination campaign,

00:01:59.320 working with Conservative Party members to become the candidate, and through the past nine days of this

00:02:04.520 actual election campaign, I think people feel that obviously life has become extremely unaffordable

00:02:10.100 to them. I think that there is this constant attack on our rural way of life, whether it be the

00:02:16.200 Liberals gun grab, whether it be the carbon tax, or now the secondary carbon tax, whether it be the

00:02:21.680 attacks on our farmers, and the cap of emissions on fertilizer, it seems as though our rural way of

00:02:27.200 life is constantly under attack, and I want to stand up. I want to be part of a government that

00:02:32.100 is going to fight for the little people, that is going to fight to give people back control of their 0.97

00:02:36.000 lives, and fight to return the prosperity that Canada can offer, the promise of Canada.

00:02:40.840 One thing that I do have to bring up, because obviously you're running in one of the most

00:02:45.820 conservative ridings in the country, which meant it was also subject of a bit of a subplot last time,

00:02:52.260 because it was the strongest People's Party of Canada support at about, I think, just over 20%

00:02:57.820 or 20.1% in the last election. So let me ask you about that context, because I don't believe

00:03:03.680 politicians, even ones in quote-unquote safe seats, should ever go into elections thinking they have it

00:03:08.580 in the bag here, and in your case, you may find that you're deflecting against a different type

00:03:13.640 of opposition than you might have in a different riding. So is there an active strategy on your

00:03:19.280 part to go after PPC voters? My active strategy is to go after voters. We have knocked on a lot of

00:03:26.660 thousands of doors already. My plan is to talk to as many voters as I can. I have a team of volunteers

00:03:31.460 that I left in my hometown here in Portage knocking on doors today. So the plan is to engage with as many

00:03:38.000 voters and hear their issues. In terms of the last election, people were mad. People were upset with

00:03:43.060 the mandates and the lockdowns that were imposed, particularly the egregious lockdowns that Manitobans

00:03:48.220 faced. There has been a turning point, and it certainly started with the leadership of Pierre

00:03:52.640 Polyev. Prior to his time as leader and throughout his time as leader, he has been very clear on his

00:03:58.020 views about mandates and lockdowns. And throughout my nomination process, I've made my views very clear.

00:04:04.260 So, you know, there might have been a high water point in the last election, but in talking with

00:04:08.600 people, they are ready for a real party that can be ready to govern. And I'm looking forward to join

00:04:13.740 Pierre Polyev's team in Ottawa and take this fight to the Liberals because that's really where we need

00:04:18.000 to have it. You know, I know obviously that, you know, when people ask how many votes do you need

00:04:21.860 to win? The answer is one more than the other guy. Like there's not a magic number and you can't have

00:04:26.380 a hundred percent. And generally speaking, we don't want a system in which people get every voter.

00:04:30.680 But even so, when you have, you know, 20% of voters in a riding that were probably, at least for the

00:04:38.920 most part, historically conservative voters say, I don't believe that the Conservative Party of Canada

00:04:43.820 is an effective champion of the things that matter to me. Does that not necessitate some introspection

00:04:49.980 on your part as a Conservative member, despite the leadership change that, hey, there's a part of

00:04:54.300 our party that has been failing people? Sure, but I think you hit the nail on the head here.

00:04:59.340 And we are not taking anything for granted. Like, let's be frank here, Andrew. I'm the new guy.

00:05:03.300 Candace was the MP, was a very good MP in this riding for many years. And so stepping into this

00:05:08.680 with a new face, a name on a sign isn't enough to just sway voters. So that's why we're working so

00:05:14.040 hard, me personally, and the dozens of volunteers we have going across towns across this riding for

00:05:18.480 the last eight days and continuing over the next 28 and beyond that, to make sure that they know that

00:05:24.120 we are taking this riding serious. And again, I think it does start with the leadership to push

00:05:28.120 back a little bit. Pierre has shifted our Conservative Party to a point in which I think

00:05:32.720 people are very excited once again to be part of our movement. He has unified our party. He has brought

00:05:37.440 people back into the fold by his strong positions, whether it be on mandates and lockdowns, but a whole

00:05:41.860 host of other issues that are at the core priorities of people across this riding. So overwhelming support

00:05:48.060 I think we're going to be part of our campaign. I think we're going to go out there and work hard

00:05:55.060 to earn every vote on June 19th. So let's talk about 2021 for a moment. And I take what you say,

00:06:02.540 you weren't the candidate then, so I don't think you have to be held accountable for what the party

00:06:06.560 did. But there were a lot of voters that saw, OK, we elected a leader that says no to a carbon tax,

00:06:11.720 and then all of a sudden we're running on something that very much resembles a carbon tax. You know,

00:06:16.580 other things in the platform, like, you know, repealing liberal gun bans were walked back or

00:06:22.720 softened. So for you as a Conservative candidate, can you make a commitment now that you won't stand

00:06:27.120 for that, that if the platform put forward in the election is not the one that Pierre Polyev has been

00:06:31.560 talking about now and was talking about in his leadership, that you're going to speak out against

00:06:35.180 it? Absolutely. And you know what? People have challenged me with that on the doorsteps. And I

00:06:40.040 proudly say, you know, when elected to join this caucus, I've looked thousands of people in the eye

00:06:45.120 already and told them, for example, that we are going to axe the carbon tax. And I will happily

00:06:49.080 say that loudly and proudly inside our own caucus to make sure that it's known that when I tell

00:06:53.660 somebody, I mean it. And our party needs to mean it too. We can't just be liberal light. We need to

00:06:58.540 be true Conservatives to ourselves and to everybody across this country. And I think, again, it does go

00:07:03.200 back to the leadership, leadership change that happened last year with Pierre taking the helm. I think we

00:07:08.680 are earnest to ourselves and the fact that we are real Conservatives, we are consistent in our views,

00:07:13.660 and I'm very proud to be joining his team. And I think Canadians across the country, at least here

00:07:17.780 at Portage-Liscar, are seeing that shift happening in real time.

00:07:20.420 I did have Maxime Bernier, your opponent in this race, on the show last week, and he had unveiled

00:07:26.100 his policy on abortion at the time. And he had said, you know, he wants to end third trimester

00:07:32.020 abortions. And, you know, there was a bit of a back and forth as to how he identifies as pro-life

00:07:37.120 or pro-choice. But in the interest of fairness, I know it actually, probably in your riding more

00:07:41.100 than many others in Canada, does matter to voters. There are a lot of conscience voters

00:07:45.160 there. Where do you stand on this? Are you pro-life or are you pro-choice?

00:07:48.600 Yeah, it's easy for me. I'm 100% pro-life. It's a lot easier to answer that way. And you're right.

00:07:54.320 This is an important issue to a lot of voters, and it's on both sides of life. It's the abortion 0.91

00:07:59.960 issue, but it's also the medical assistance and dying issue, which has been raised to me a number

00:08:04.060 of times of late. Obviously, the Liberals' proposed expansion to children and those suffering with

00:08:09.640 mental illness is deeply concerning. And Conservative MPs, when the Liberals first brought

00:08:15.660 this in, rightfully stood up and maintained the argument that we needed tight guardrails

00:08:19.880 on medical assistance and dying opportunities and to avoid this slippery slope that we've

00:08:24.240 seen in other countries. So, you know, with that issue being front and centre in the minds

00:08:27.860 of many people right now, I'm happy to tell them exactly how I feel, that we need to make

00:08:32.120 sure that we limit this proposed expansion by the Liberals to youths and those facing

00:08:37.880 mental health issues. So, to me, it's fairly easy. And I'm not sure why my opponent couldn't

00:08:42.480 be a little bit more clear after making such an announcement. But I think the reality is,

00:08:46.520 you know, he's an opportunist from another country. He's at the point where he's desperate.

00:08:50.160 He's willing to say and do anything at this point to try to get votes based on what he thinks

00:08:54.720 people want him to say.

00:08:56.340 Quebec, you're referring to as another country here?

00:08:58.600 Sorry, another province. My apologies.

00:09:01.220 Well, that claim might actually get you votes in rural Manitoba. I'm not sure. But I mean,

00:09:07.200 here's the criticism, though, is that you have a party leader who does not identify as pro-life

00:09:11.860 and despite his commitment to conscience votes has said unequivocally, including on my show,

00:09:15.980 that he does not anticipate any legislation on abortion passing. So if you're a pro-life voter,

00:09:21.760 is the PPC not offering you more because they actually have a concrete plan on abortion,

00:09:26.280 whereas you're leaning on your values here and, you know, in a party that doesn't want to legislate

00:09:30.960 on this issue?

00:09:32.340 Yeah, and as I said, I get asked this all the time. And I think what I say to folks in the

00:09:36.100 riding is just like Candace Bergen did, I will always vote with the will of my constituents,

00:09:40.320 which is very clearly on the pro-life side of things. I think, you know, I wouldn't trust an

00:09:46.420 opportunist from Quebec, from our country, but from a different province that's coming in here and

00:09:50.320 just trying to get votes by stating that he's going to do something. He is right in saying that

00:09:54.420 single-handedly he's not going to be able to do this. Now, he's starting the conversation,

00:09:57.600 that is one thing, but that's not what he's trying to do here. He is trying to get votes

00:10:01.140 from folks that know that he can't actually represent any of their issues. People here,

00:10:06.200 what I've been talking to on the doorstep, are worried about their businesses and their

00:10:10.640 communities having water access, having natural gas access, so we can have economic prosperity for

00:10:15.560 our manufacturing industries, for our wet agricultural value-added processing industries.

00:10:19.880 They're mad about the carbon tax, about the gun grab, and he's trying to come in and try to

00:10:24.220 harvest votes based on what he thinks folks care about. He's transitioned overnight into a social

00:10:30.720 conservative, and I think people are going to see through that. If you are successful in getting

00:10:35.720 elected, you're going to have a bit of runway, maybe a year, maybe two years of being in opposition

00:10:41.300 before there is another election. What is your target for that? What is your goal for that that

00:10:47.000 you'd want to have achieved before you're going back to voters in 2025, if the NDP doesn't manage

00:10:52.700 to find a spine, and you're saying, okay, re-elect me?

00:10:57.400 Yeah, no, that's a good question, Andrew. I think...

Juno News - May 25, 2023

Portage–Lisgar Conservative candidate says Bernier is an “opportunist”

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