Juno News - April 03, 2023


What’s next for Candice Bergen？


Episode Stats

Length

4 minutes

Words per Minute

196.48312

Word Count

879

Sentence Count

58

Misogynist Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Joining me here at the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference is former Conservative leader, Candice Bergen.
00:00:05.920 Obviously, Candice, you had to be the interim leader during the leadership race.
00:00:10.260 You saw yourself being replaced in real time.
00:00:12.840 And now you've left politics.
00:00:14.620 So why are you still here?
00:00:16.680 Why are you still immersing yourself in this world when you don't need to?
00:00:19.120 It's funny, Andrew, because when I let Pierre, our leader, know that I was going to be stepping down,
00:00:24.200 I said, but, you know, Pierre, I got into politics as a volunteer,
00:00:27.260 and I want to go back to being a volunteer because I still love politics
00:00:31.260 and I still believe strongly in what a Conservative Party does
00:00:35.160 and what we need to do for the country.
00:00:36.580 So I said, I'm going to be retiring my official role as a member of Parliament.
00:00:40.880 But I said to Pierre and my caucus, I still want to help.
00:00:44.340 So, no, this is still very important to me.
00:00:47.240 I like, obviously, meeting fellow Conservatives.
00:00:50.340 It was great to see Stephen Harper and hear Stephen and Preston last night.
00:00:55.140 And this is important.
00:00:56.140 It's important that we come together.
00:00:58.520 Our Conservative Party and our movement is made up of coalitions of different groups of people.
00:01:04.600 And I'm a big believer in we need to be able to disagree and still be united.
00:01:09.560 And I'll tell you, more than ever, we need to be a united Conservative movement.
00:01:13.400 So even though I'm retired officially, I'm still, I care very much about the country
00:01:18.560 and I'm still a Conservative.
00:01:19.880 I know a lot of people here made a big deal about Stephen Harper speaking
00:01:23.240 because he has kept something of a low profile in Canadian politics since he left office.
00:01:27.620 But I know from talking to you and other members of Parliament that I know,
00:01:31.340 he has never disappeared.
00:01:33.120 He's always been giving advice and talking behind the scenes.
00:01:36.240 So he's still maintained a very involved role.
00:01:39.580 And I'm curious what you think of his idea that he put forward in his remarks
00:01:43.160 that we're witnessing a Conservative renaissance right now, to use his words.
00:01:46.400 Well, I always find it hard to believe that we just don't always have a Conservative renaissance
00:01:52.240 going on because I just think any common sense person would agree with Conservative policy,
00:01:58.100 you know, should, if we did the good job and the best job of communicating them.
00:02:03.300 So yes, I mean, I think that every government has a lifespan.
00:02:07.120 And so we're seeing the end of this Liberal government's lifespan come to an end.
00:02:12.880 So I think there's part of that.
00:02:14.780 Is there a renaissance?
00:02:16.180 I hope he's right.
00:02:17.920 I do worry that in Preston alluded to this yesterday,
00:02:21.020 even policy around balancing the budget, that seems to be almost old school.
00:02:26.540 A lot of people, not to me, it's not to me, but to a lot of people,
00:02:30.440 there are certain ideas that I would consider to be a good Conservative policy that are rare.
00:02:36.620 And so I hope he's right.
00:02:39.500 I do worry the way young people are being raised and what they're taught at school,
00:02:44.800 our universities, you know, the bastion for Liberal ideas.
00:02:50.420 There really is very little opportunity for young people to hear of Conservative policy.
00:02:55.660 So unless it's sort of intuitively in them or if their parents are raising them,
00:03:00.480 you know, you need to be responsible for yourself.
00:03:02.340 You need to make sure your finances are managed properly,
00:03:04.900 less government, individual responsibility,
00:03:08.220 unless they're raised with that kind of as part of who they are.
00:03:11.980 You know, I think it's very, it's going to be very difficult, but I hope he's right.
00:03:18.200 Just lastly, what do you think that the non-negotiables are?
00:03:21.160 Because obviously Conservative politics and politics changes over time.
00:03:24.160 What do you think the core values that should never change about the Conservative movement are?
00:03:27.500 You know, when I was leader, I talked about fiscal, the kind of the four pillars,
00:03:32.240 fiscal responsibility, law and order, national unity, freedom of expression and belief.
00:03:39.480 Those are sort of the four core things that make us all Conservative.
00:03:43.540 And I think any other issue, any other policy can be woven into that.
00:03:48.280 And there can be, you know, all kinds of interesting things that come out of other types of policy and beliefs.
00:03:54.060 But I think those are four core foundations of who we are as Conservatives.
00:03:58.600 And last year, I just remembered you had to skip it because you had COVID.
00:04:01.760 You were going to be coming in person.
00:04:02.860 I did.
00:04:03.480 And then had to be in the video.
00:04:04.480 So do you like being in person now?
00:04:06.020 I do.
00:04:06.800 I do.
00:04:07.140 I was thinking about that.
00:04:08.300 And I was wondering, I thought, I wonder what it was like last year.
00:04:10.740 Because, yes, I did my speech and I was like just feeling like, oh, no, I'm not feeling good.
00:04:14.900 And I tested positive for COVID.
00:04:17.320 But only once, only got it once and I survived.
00:04:21.120 All right.
00:04:21.520 Well, that's what matters.
00:04:22.580 Candice Berger, former Conservative leader.
00:04:24.240 Thanks for your service in politics over the years.
00:04:26.200 And thanks for sitting down today.
00:04:27.340 Great to chat with you.
00:04:28.180 Likewise.