00:10:45.680Okay, hello everybody. You can guess by the fact I'm standing here that the leader is in the house. I'm Michael Dignan, the chairman of the Canadian Catastron Free Network, and I want to start off just by repeating that it's just simply not possible to hold these events without sponsors. I want to mention that through Modern American Network, I've been a gold sponsor for 10 years of Catastron Free Network.
00:11:13.680I mention this because I want to make sure you don't doubt any sincerity when I tell you how important it is to thank our sponsors.
00:11:20.680But seriously, I will tell you, I know how the finances work. Thank you all for being here. We need your tenants. We'd love to do a few days to be here, but I can tell you they don't work with the sponsors.
00:11:31.680So please take note of who they are and if you have a chance to thank them, please do so.
00:11:34.680I want to mention Adam Bullock, our CEO. I think he's going to come up here to thank the leader after his talk.
00:11:40.680And also their staff, me, Beth, Ariella that have been running around like crazy trying to get stuff done.
00:11:46.680I love watching them do things I don't have to.
00:11:49.680And our board, our board of directors really committed people that volunteered their time.
00:11:56.680And I'd like to especially mention that Stephen Parker is our honorary chair.
00:12:01.680And he joined the organization because he really believes the information.
00:12:05.680that Preston Manning and Click Fires happily founded. The Manning Centre now attended a strong and free network.
00:12:11.680And that mission was motivated by a simple thing. After Brown Marooney, Conservatives and Canada fractured.
00:12:17.680Quebec Nationalists, Western Populists, Progressive Conservatives.
00:12:21.680This organisation was started to ensure that we don't fracture again.
00:12:26.680And we do that through networking, policy discussions, training. We had a great training day yesterday. I attended part of it.
00:12:34.680Finally, I want to thank you. Thank you for being here, given our mission, because we are a networking organization, and I want you all to please be here to network with purpose.
00:12:46.040Find like-minded people in the conservative movement, build coalitions, alliances, friendships, hopefully leading to actually doing something.
00:12:53.140exchange ideas for less like-minded, and build bridges, debate policy, and share best practice.
00:12:59.140In fact, today, I learned best practice in Chad Bowie yesterday, that you should repeat things,
00:13:04.140and I'm repeating this talk about some of the things I just wanted.
00:13:07.140But collectively, today, you, individually, can help strengthen our unity and build our own.
00:13:14.140It's my honor and privilege to introduce the leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition.
00:13:19.140Karen and Ada's story is like that of many Canadian families, and I personally relate to it.
00:13:24.140I also grew up in a modest neighbourhood in Calgary, and my family also lived with disability.
00:13:29.140So I've seen firsthand how adversity can bring out people the best or the worst of people.
00:13:33.140I've been humbled by watching people like Apalya face those challenges with strength, grace, and determination.
00:13:39.140My wife Maria's family escaped authoritarians to come to Canada seeking freedom and opportunity,
00:13:46.140And we both recognize the fierce patriotism of a native coming from a valley like that.
00:13:51.140What really strikes people here in a native is that you never hear them talk like victims.
00:13:56.140You never hear them talk about how society failed them, how the government didn't do enough.
00:14:02.140What you hear them talk about is freedom.
00:14:05.140The freedom for Canadians to manage their own lives, responsibilities and burdens
00:14:10.140and become happier and more competent members of society.
00:14:14.140Now, as I reflect where we are politically, and it's a bit of a discouraging time for some of us in the conservative movement nationally,0.99
00:14:20.900but I'm reminded of this movie, Friday Night Lights, about the football coach from Texas who takes a rag-take group of high school players0.92
00:14:28.180and takes them to this championship as the underdog, which, of course, we all feel like that right now, so we can relate to that.0.98
00:14:34.180But my favorite line from that is, from the coach reflecting on his 10 years coaching football,
00:14:40.800was, you know, I have founders that much, there's not much difference between winning
00:14:44.840and losing. Except for the way people treat you. Because when Pierre Collier became leader,
00:14:51.980he was the first to warn us about inflation. I hope you remember all those videos about
00:14:56.900what inflation is. And affordability for ordinary Canadians. And he championed three simple
00:15:02.080goals. Get rid of Justin Trudeau. He was not willing to make Canada agree. To axe the farm
00:15:08.320tax and to make Canada an energy superpower. I will tell you many people in this room voted
00:15:16.320for the person we believe that would sincerely get rid of, not just Justin Trudeau, but also
00:15:21.320the 27 angry environmentalists that were embedded throughout the Trudeau government. One example
00:15:25.320we all will do is Stephen Gilberto. We voted for the person who would sincerely fight inflation
00:15:30.320affordability and tax the carbon tax, including the hidden industrial carbon tax, not increase
00:15:35.320increase it, get rid of it. We voted for the person who sincerely wanted Canada to become
00:15:39.100an energy superpower who would repeal the nine bad laws that are holding this country
00:15:43.100back so we can have hundreds, maybe thousands of projects instead of just a few and a big
00:15:48.600ones. We all voted for that. And in fact, we have more Canadians voted for that than
00:15:56.660any Conservative leader in Canadian history. When I look at where the political debate
00:16:01.960It seems to me that he won on those points. He's just not being treated like it.
00:16:08.960As we know, our current Prime Minister ended up successfully campaigning on many of the same ideas.
00:16:13.960And while others might try to rewrite what Canadians voted for, Conservatives know exactly why they supported Pierre Caulieu.
00:16:19.960They supported a man who says what he means, he means what he says.
00:16:23.960A man you can trust sincerely fight for greater freedom, greater opportunity, and a national renewal for this country.
00:16:29.960Ladies and gentlemen, please please welcome your phone.
00:16:44.960Thank you very much, Michael, and thank you Calgary.
00:16:47.960It is wonderful to be gathered here with all of you at Canada Strong and Free.
00:16:52.960I like the way that sounds. Strong and free.
00:16:57.960That's what we want for Canada. In fact, over the last several months since this referendum was called, Conservatives, under the leadership of a group called Conservatives for Canada, led by Dame Lloyd, have been campaigning, knocking on thousands of doors.
00:17:17.480I've been to 28 different events. This is my third keynote address in a major center.
00:17:23.080We've raised money and pushed the message of a strong and free Alberta within a united Canada.
00:17:30.560That's what we believe in. Obviously, we're working to save you money, save your job, keep you safe, cap immigration.0.99
00:17:38.940But our mission in all of these things is to put Canada first.0.93
00:17:43.000On Monday, Albertans will be voting on a referendum to have another referendum on whether to separate
00:20:10.700But the reality is I looked around my neighborhood at that time,
00:20:15.020and I saw people who were achieving great lives.
00:20:18.540They worked as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, police officers,
00:20:23.280or in the case of my parents, teachers, and they were able to earn a great life, own a home, and build a future for their kids.
00:20:31.160But as I got older, and I went to the University of Calgary, and in between pub nights, read about our political history and how we got where we are,
00:20:41.420I realized that the freedom that we enjoyed in this province did not just fall out of the prairie sky.
00:20:48.520Our English ancestors evolved it into existence, starting in the 13th century, was passed down
00:20:57.100the ages, jumped over the pond, crystallized in our parliamentary system, and was inherited
00:21:03.520by Albertans when we joined Confederation in 1905.
00:25:11.460There are many women who put on Team Canada Maple Leaf jerseys and cheered their country in Olympic Games.
00:25:17.460They celebrated when Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal,
00:25:21.460and the older ones still remember screaming their voices hoarse when Henderson beat the Russians.
00:25:28.460With pride, with joy, they even shed tears at times in those special moments that united and bound together our country.
00:25:36.460It's the same love that will bring pain to them when they hear the trumpet play the last post on Remembrance Day just a few weeks from now.
00:25:46.460You see, deep down, I think these people still love Canada.
00:25:50.460So why are they voting to have a referendum on potentially leaving the country?
00:25:56.460Well, most will tell you that they have complaints with the government in Ottawa.
00:26:03.460They feel like the country has moved away from its foundations and denied its basic promise.
00:26:08.460Youngsters are frustrated they can no longer afford homes.
00:26:12.460Working folks can't understand why the grocery prices are so high and they can't afford food and fuel.
00:26:18.460Trades workers wonder why our government keeps our resources in the ground and their opportunities down there with it.
00:26:25.460Is the immigration that's out of control, a justice system that turns loose violent criminals on our streets?
00:26:32.460All Albertans wonder why they send so much to Ottawa in tax dollars and get so little in return.
00:26:39.460But here's the thing, there are Canadians right across the country that wonder the very same things.
00:26:47.460To those people who are thinking about taking out their frustration on the current government by voting for separation and referendum, I say this. Canada is more than a government. It is a people, a flag, a land, a history, and a promise.
00:27:04.360What you really want, what you really want to restore, is the Canada that you knew and still love.
00:27:11.360With solid borders, safe streets, affordable food, homes, boundless resource wealth, and opportunity for everyone.
00:27:19.360A country with a common history and identity that holds it all together.
00:27:24.360That is the Canada that we all knew and still love. That is the core of who we are.
00:27:30.360So our real goal should not be separation, it should be restoration.
00:27:34.360It should not be to tear down our country, but to build it up.
00:27:37.360It should be to build a country on the solid and the oldest foundation.
00:27:42.360The answer, therefore, is more than ever.
00:27:45.360We need to be more Canadian than we ever have been.
00:27:48.360Freer than ever, stronger than ever, prouder than ever, richer and more affordable than ever.
00:27:53.360But to do that, we must stay and fight for our country.
00:30:35.800Leaving all that behind would make us smaller.
00:30:38.800Perhaps more importantly, it would mean leaving behind the people that we love across this country.
00:30:46.800So my message to all of Earth is this.
00:30:49.800Don't leave your fellow Canadians behind.
00:30:53.800Lock arms with Canadians who want to restore the promise of Canada.0.74
00:30:57.800Lock arms with Newfoundland and Labrador and their mission to double oil and gas production.
00:31:02.800Lock arms with Quebecers who want to have full autonomy over their provincial jurisdiction just like we Albertans do.
00:31:09.800Unissant nos forces avec les Québécois qui souhaitent d'un pays où les gens ont des moyens d'acheter des maisons et de sourire sur nos rires, de créer des entreprises de fonder et de protéger nos frontières et de défendre nos occultures.
00:31:25.200Lock arms with Indigenous Canadians to stop the federal government's gun grab and let our hunters, farmers, and sports shooters keep their property.
00:31:33.960Lock arms with the police unions in Ontario who are crying out for tougher criminal justice
00:31:39.960so that we can keep their communities and ours safe.
00:31:42.960Lock arms with BC to build LNG liquefaction terminals so we can liquefy that gas
00:31:48.960and sell it for hundreds of billions of dollars overseas, making our province even richer.
00:31:53.960Lock arms with ambitious, hard-working young people for homes, jobs and hope right across the country.
00:32:00.960lock arms with all Canadians, to save money and jobs, to keep people safe, to tap immigration,
00:32:05.960and to put Canada first, lock arms for the affordable, safe, and independent Canada we