00:06:56.320well now's the time to pin them down so uh we'll see if we get some solid answers
00:07:02.220after the date and see if you're satisfied with the answers that came and confident if
00:07:08.300they're believable because we've heard from leaders before promising not to do certain
00:07:11.800taxes and it turned out they're full of something yeah absolutely absolutely guys i'll be back
00:07:17.200right after the debate and i'll let you know what we think right on thanks franco
00:07:20.380yes he certainly is and he keeps their feet to the fire so uh matthew at this point uh it's always
00:07:42.940hard to tell from here these things rarely start on time though how's it looking are they getting
00:07:46.700ready to roll pretty quick it's looking like we're on time here we're getting announcements
00:07:50.140for everybody to find their seats and get ready for it to start uh i'm going to be live tweeting
00:07:54.620what i'm seeing having some videos and some uh perhaps some commentary and then i will be joining
00:07:58.380you guys as you know after to uh to uh talk about it and it's getting quiet here so i think we're
00:08:03.100getting ready to go okay right on well we'll let you get positioned and uh we'll start getting
00:08:07.740to be here too thanks guys see you soon oh yeah we're gonna see how this debate all lines up i
00:08:17.020mean uh i'm curious about the format i know you know they'll take it as it comes but it's always
00:08:21.180difficult if you didn't get enough information five different people that's a lot of answers
00:08:27.020and uh just their intro and you're already you know a good way through the the debate so uh
00:08:31.820A good moderator makes a debate, Corey.
00:08:35.980If we've got a good moderator, hopefully things will go well.
00:08:39.220Yeah, so I know that they've got, Candace Malcolm is one of the moderators.
00:08:43.440There was somebody else I believe was going to, but then I heard there might be changes.
00:08:46.080We'll see when that gets up and streaming there.
00:08:50.640But it'll also be interesting to see if they take any questions off the floor.
00:08:53.480We've got a lot of prominent conservatives gathered in that room right now.
00:08:56.580I believe Alberta's own Jason Kenney was winging his way there today.
00:09:01.820Well, yeah, it's probably a safer space for them.
00:09:06.140Safer country than it is here, absolutely.
00:09:09.340Right on. So yes, I mean, I wonder if this is where they're going to set the tone for their
00:09:14.780campaigns at this point. You know, I mean, again, it was frustrating when I had them in, you know,
00:09:19.660guests. I've listened to just about all of them. I've had them here and it was like pulling teeth
00:09:24.140to get solid commitments on everything. Just those political answers, that mushy, you know,
00:09:28.540But I mean, in debate format, well, these guys aren't going to feel as obligated to be polite and nice as I am when I have a guest in.
00:09:34.480Maybe they'll get on each other a little bit.
00:09:37.460I mean, something we'll be able to see, too, is Paulyev, I got a feeling they're going to turn on him.
00:09:40.920When you get a presumptuous, presumptuous, but presumed front runner, typically, I mean, the guns are going to turn towards them from the other candidates.
00:09:50.620I mean, people have always wanted to see how would Pierre look going head to head with Justin Trudeau.
00:09:55.320Today, you can get to see how he is in more of a debate sort of format.
00:09:58.060Yeah, it's going to be really interesting. I mean, we are a long way away from the September 10th, but an entire summer of campaigning to go when, you know what, I just hope they're not careful. I hope somebody takes a risk and hope, you know, tries to land a few good solid punches. You know, my great fear is that it's still so early. Nobody wants to make a mistake, say something that's going to set back their campaign to almost a reset point.
00:10:24.200Yeah, well, and the hot button issue at the top of everything today, as we've said, you know, it's been just due to the Supreme Court decision down in the States.
00:10:32.460I know people say it shouldn't impact a Canadian political thing, but reality it is.
00:10:37.140We're seeing that in the Alberta legislature with actions on Notley's part.
00:10:40.360We're seeing Trudeau baiting and talking about bringing in new abortion legislation.
00:10:43.560And I know the Conservatives really didn't want to have to go into this.
00:10:46.440No. You were talking about not only today, the NDP is introducing a motion in Alberta to try and change the law to have women who undergo abortion procedures to have bereavement leave. So again, you know, that just throws the spotlight right where they want it, right on the, you know, the UCP, the Conservative Party, which, you know, the UCP doesn't want that spotlight whatsoever.
00:11:08.060No, no. And then it's all political gamership, brinkmanship, trying to corner them, get them to say something that they can grab, and whether it's in context or out of context, and start that division. It's just, man, such a brutal issue, because there's never any resolution to it. I mean, our grandparents dealt with it, and our grandchildren are going to have to deal with it, but it's front and center now, which is going to be quite a...
00:11:30.220Yeah, and probably their grandchildren, too.
00:13:18.800It's a surprisingly restrained caucus at the moment, shall we say.
00:13:24.180Yes, and I'm certain there were a number of, again, you know, just non-supportive people of the Conservative Party rubbing their hands together, waiting for one of them to come out or a couple to come out.
00:13:58.600Conservatives will take away your rights as women.1.00
00:14:02.380It's something they've had to deal with for decades now.1.00
00:14:04.620Well, and they put people on a hard spot.
00:14:07.440If there's somebody who personally believes they're pro-life, they'd rather not see abortions.
00:14:12.100But they say, we don't want to legislate it.
00:14:14.300So, you know, as soon as they're put in the spotlight, though, to say the personal part, that's all that gets reported on and not the part where they're saying where I'm not going to legislate on.
00:14:21.460I don't know. We don't even know where Harper Foley lands on that.
00:14:24.560You know, he wasn't wide open about that when he was prime minister.
00:14:28.540But he did nothing, of course, despite all the fear mongering, as you said.
00:14:32.220I don't think any serious conservative leader really is going to dive into that issue if they get the chance as a prime minister.
00:14:36.560No, they'll try and avoid it at all costs.
00:14:39.600So, yeah, hopefully this thing gets rolling pretty soon.
00:15:37.560he's doing it to the mainstream media as well. He's not showing up for this debate. They're
00:15:43.500saying that he needs to get more memberships sold to reach the bar of entry. Well, if he managed to
00:15:47.760raise the 300,000, you'd think you'd get the memberships.
00:15:50.220Well, that ship's already sailed, hasn't it? Well, that deadline has been passed.
00:15:54.520I don't know. That's just what they're saying. Or perhaps they're saying he's got to get more,
00:15:58.020just saying he had to get out and sell memberships. But I think if you've got a team,
00:16:01.320you've got people to go banging on those doors, selling memberships, you should be up on the
00:16:04.740stage reaching out to what better way to sell memberships and present yourself and your ideas.
00:16:09.600Yeah. I just don't get this. Campaign co-chair is Calgary MP, Michelle Rempel Gardner. She
00:16:15.380should know better than this. Corey, she's a veteran politician. Uh, I wonder if she's behind0.88
00:16:22.100this. I, you know, I kind of doubt it. And some of the questions start coming too. Well, why is he
00:16:26.800even in this race? Why is he there? Um, there's some of the, the talk might come about a stalking0.99
00:16:32.820horse candidate. And yeah, we've seen that, you know, in Alberta unfold badly. There's nothing
00:16:38.200illegal or wrong about that. That happens in a lot of races, actually, where sometimes you get
00:16:42.620a large crowd, particularly the old days of delegates, and people would go back and forth
00:16:46.600across the floor. But you'd kind of throw a spoiler candidate in there to split some votes.
00:16:51.160And I imagine, for example, looks like we might have things rolling here.
00:16:54.160Has been waiting for, let's meet the candidates in tonight's debate. So we have done a random draw
00:16:59.560with the campaigns to determine the order in which the candidates will appear on stage tonight.
00:17:06.360I will announce the candidates in that order.
00:17:10.220So first up, we have Independent Member of the Provincial Parliament in Ontario, Mr. Rowan Bader.
00:17:16.100Next up, we have the former Premier of Quebec, Mr. Jean Charest.
00:17:41.100Next up, we have Member of Parliament, Mr. Pierre Polyev.
00:17:46.100Next, we have Member of Parliament, Mr. Scott Acheson.
00:18:09.420And last, but certainly not least, Member of Parliament, Dr. Leslyn Lewis.
00:18:16.100so thank you very much to all of the candidates for being here we really appreciate it and i'll
00:18:33.460just make a note to the audience that the candidates know very little about what is
00:18:37.700in store for them tonight neither the themes nor the questions were shared with any of the campaigns
00:18:43.460prior only the format was shared and with that let's get started with opening statements
00:18:51.220we're going to start with you mr babber 45 seconds thank you i'm roman babber i came to
00:18:57.140canada when i was 15 and we didn't have a cent to our name but i always had canadian opportunity and
00:19:02.260i had every blessing this country has to offer because all you need to do to succeed in canada
00:19:07.060is work hard and be nice to people i worked in the private sector for 12 years joined and grew
00:19:11.940in small business and was elected by the community that welcomed me as a new canadian 20 years
00:19:16.500earlier about a year and a half ago i wasn't going to have it anymore and i made a choice
00:19:20.820i wasn't going to continue to inflict collateral harm on canadians with lockdowns i opposed my
00:19:25.700government and was removed from the ontario pc caucus i went on to fight for our kids for our
00:19:30.900choice for our democracy standing up for people is something i've done my entire career because
00:19:35.700i'm not afraid to say what i believe or to stand up for what's right i'm not your typical politician
00:19:41.460i don't even like politics but i love my country and i love canadians and i'm not going to sit
00:19:46.740back and watch the erosion of canada's democracy and canada's opportunity thank you so much for
00:19:51.780hosting me tonight thank you mr babber uh mr shere it's uh 45 seconds thank you very much and
00:20:04.180thank you for hosting us tonight and i hope this will be an opportunity for us to exchange ideas
00:20:09.780And if I'm in this race, you'll know that if there's a common theme throughout my whole life, it has been the idea of Canada.
00:20:17.780And I have fought at every moment to preserve the unity of this country, whether it's the referendum in Quebec or when I was Premier of Quebec.
00:20:26.780I look at the country today and I see a country that's way below its potential and badly divided, whether it's separatism in Quebec or Western alienation.
00:20:36.780We cannot take our country for granted.
00:20:41.240And the answer is the Conservative Party of Canada.
00:20:46.600We have to live up to that responsibility,
00:20:50.380to the call of Canadians to be the national conservative alternative
00:20:55.920to the Liberal government of Mr. Trudeau.
00:20:58.520And that's why I'm running, to unite the party,
00:21:01.260so that the party will speak with one voice and one vision.
00:21:05.620And if you're tired of losing campaigns, as we did in 15 and 19 and 21, if you've had enough of handing over power to Trudeau, well, then you will want a leader that's going to unite the party and elect a national conservative government.
00:31:19.360Otherwise, I want to say something about the last campaign that we need to all be conscious of.
00:31:26.960Our candidates who ran in the GTA when knocking on doors were confronted again in 2021 with this idea that was put forward in 2015 about a barbaric telephone tip line.
00:31:43.580And the message it sent to them, remind, we have four seats out of 53.
00:31:48.340The message it sent to new Canadians is you are not welcome in the Conservative Party of Canada.
00:31:53.560The result and the outcome speaks for itself.
00:31:57.860One thing that we have to be clear on in the next campaign and the next leader
00:39:24.160Many of my friends are pro-choice, and we have healthy discussions about the future.
00:39:30.120And there is so much that we agree on, and we need to come together as a society to determine
00:39:37.240that we can work out things, even controversial things like abortion.
00:39:42.120I still don't know where these gentlemen stand on this issue.
00:39:47.180I don't know whether they're pro-life or pro-choice, and the media will hound them.
00:39:52.140For example, Mr. Pierre Polyev has ran from the media the last few days because he doesn't want to declare whether he's pro-life or pro-choice.
00:40:01.460As a leader, he is going to have to declare that.
00:40:05.900He cannot just be a minister of finance if he wants to be a prime minister.
00:40:10.920He is going to have to deal with social conservative issues, which he has been running from, for this entire campaign.
00:40:22.140Our next question is for you, Mr. Bavar.
00:40:26.680You emerged as one of the most vocal opponents of COVID-19 pandemic management policies,
00:40:32.060including lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
00:40:34.820Your positions led you to being removed from the Ontario Progressive Conservative Caucus.
00:40:40.060What do you say to Canadians who might be worried about how you would handle a future pandemic
00:40:44.920and whether you would be able to make the difficult decisions needed to save lives?
00:40:49.640Absolutely, because that will entertain an opinion.
00:49:24.740canadians are witnessing the continuous erosion of our democracy and we should be mindful of
00:49:30.340this conversation instead of mocking them like the prime minister does thank you mr babber
00:49:38.260next we'll go over to you mr aitchison well thank you i uh i just want to quickly point out that uh
00:49:44.100i didn't label anybody a conspiracy theorist up here but you listen you seem to take the mantle
00:49:48.660so i'll leave that there i don't know why you did um and i'll say that i'll say to roman you know
00:49:55.300this party in the federal parliament has been fighting vaccine mandates we've been fighting the
00:50:00.340ridiculous rules around travel melissa lanceman sitting in the audience here has been an amazing
00:50:04.820member of parliament fighting this every step of the way and she does it with respect she does it
00:50:11.140with respect she's effective and she eviscerates the liberals every day and she does it with grace
00:50:16.900and style. We can do that. We can do it. Melissa Lance was the example. Thank you, Mr. Aitchison,0.92
00:50:22.100and final rebuttal is to you, Mr. Charest. Thank you very much, Candice. Can I take a moment to
00:50:27.940lay to rest this accusation of being a liberal? No, no, but please bear with me. Bear with me.
00:50:38.900I fought the 95 referendum and I'm in this race because I believe in the unity of the country.
00:50:43.860I think Western alienation has lasted long enough and what I see there I've seen in Quebec and I
00:50:49.540ran in 95 I fought in the referendum and I went to lead a coalition in Quebec of federalists when
00:50:56.180there was no Conservative Party of Quebec ladies and gentlemen as is the case in British Columbia
00:51:02.420and you know what I was successful we pushed back on that referendum and Canada stayed united
00:51:08.980And believe me, if I was able to fight back to separate this, it's not this guy here on the stage tonight that's going to intimidate me and stop me from defending Canada.
00:51:19.880That's for sure. That will never happen. Count on it.
00:51:24.280And so, and yes, and during the period of the Great Recession, we did reduce income taxes, and Quebec's economy did better than the rest of the country and better than much of the world.
00:51:34.600Why? Because that was the Conservative thing to do, and we were successful in doing it.
01:12:52.140I said if I were a Quebec politician, I would vote against it in the legislature.
01:12:55.820If anyone proposed it federally, I would vote against it.
01:12:59.060and if i was prime minister i would make sure it would never happen in this country i'm 100
01:13:04.260against bill 21. that's 30 seconds mr sheree 30 seconds to you this is a very important moment
01:13:09.780in the debate mr poliev has not said but his position is that if this bill goes to the supreme
01:13:17.860court of canada he will not speak on behalf of canada that's what he said in french in quebec
01:13:26.500If you have flip-flopped on it, Mr. Poliev, say so tonight.
01:13:29.860But you said to the French press in Quebec that, contrary to Charest, if it goes to the Supreme Court of Canada, you will not defend the interests of those who are affected.
01:17:36.880We need to have a real relationship with the provinces,
01:17:38.800and we need to live up to our promises as a federal government
01:17:40.960and live up to solving this problem for Canadians
01:17:44.540and making sure that we look at all models around the world.
01:17:47.680We always think about the American model,
01:17:49.580but there's a lot of models out there that are a lot better than ours,
01:17:51.920and we need to have an honest conversation about it.
01:17:55.080to each candidate who answered the question on health care we'd like to give you 30 seconds of
01:18:03.160rebuttal time so we'll start with you dr lewis i think it's important that we end hallway medicine
01:18:07.900every single year that we have the flu pandemic we see hallway medicine this this did not just
01:18:15.940come about with covid we have to make sure that we work with the provinces to to reduce wait times
01:18:22.660People should not be waiting for surgeries, nor should they be waiting for simple things like MRIs that could be delivered in a private setting.
01:18:34.660I cannot believe that Mr. Atchison is justifying lockdowns by looking at our health care system.
01:18:40.960We should never be excusing lockdowns.
01:18:42.940And neither should Mr. Charest say that if we have better health care, we will not need mandates.
01:20:35.040Politicians in Quebec continue to oppose and block energy projects.
01:20:38.940Mr. Charest, your government banned fracking.
01:20:41.360The following government, Philippe Killard, his government introduced a block of the Energy East Pipeline.
01:20:47.720Now the current Premier, François Legault, has recently announced a total ban on oil and gas exploration and production in the province of Quebec.
01:20:55.000So here is the question. Do you support increasing oil and gas exports?
01:20:59.180And if so, how do you work with Quebec as a player in achieving this national goal?
01:22:52.380Well, Bill C-69 makes it next to impossible to build a pipeline or to expand an oil science mine.
01:22:59.900The federal approval process is so bureaucratic and slow, the gatekeepers stand in the way and prevent people from actually building resource projects.
01:23:09.040So what is my plan? I will repeal Bill C-69 and replace it with a simple, direct process that consults First Nations, protects the environment, but gets projects started.
01:23:21.400Two, I will give my support to approve Newfoundland's project to increase 400,000 by 400,000 barrels a day its production so that that oil can displace all of the overseas oil that we're bringing by tanker to St. John, New Brunswick.
01:23:38.960And within five years, I will have banned dictator oil from Canada altogether.
01:23:44.140Furthermore, I disagree with Mr. Shray on natural gas.
01:23:53.460We need shale and other and tight gas and other forms of natural gas.
01:23:57.560And we need to approve the liquefaction process so that we can cool it down, put it on ships, send it overseas, and break European dependence on Russian natural gas once and for all.
01:24:10.220If Mr. Charest had not banned natural gas in Quebec, we might be able to do that already.
01:24:14.680already. But I will not only support those projects, but I will support a liquefaction
01:24:19.240processes so that we can ship our natural gas to Asia. The closest point in North America to Asia
01:24:25.560is British Columbia. The closest point in North America to Europe is Newfoundland. We have a
01:24:31.840massive geographic advantage and we have a weather advantage because liquefying natural gas is a
01:24:37.520process of cooling it down. What do we have in Canada? Cold weather. It is our most abundant
01:24:43.120natural resource so let's cool it down turn it into liquid send it overseas sell it and turn
01:24:48.860dollars for dictators into paychecks for our people thank you i'll give you each 30 seconds
01:24:59.460to respond to one another and i want to specifically re-ask the question how would you work
01:25:03.680with the people of quebec and the premier of quebec to get canada's energy to market mr
01:25:08.440right here it's going it's going to take a lot of work you can't impose it canvas i want to be very
01:25:13.640clear anyone who thinks that in this federal system of government the federal government can
01:25:17.800just walk in and impose it needs to remember something called the national energy program
01:25:24.840and if you remember the national energy program that's what happened the last time a trudeau
01:25:31.000went into alberta and said we're going to go over your heads and get this done you need to find ways
01:25:36.920that will incentivize them to do it and that means a new reality but also in the segne lac
01:25:43.960saint jean a huge mobilization of people who believe in that project the same is true for
01:25:48.600new brunswick for example this lng plant in new brunswick that was built for the purpose of
01:25:54.040importing needs to be retrofitted now for the purpose of exporting gas and that's that's the
01:26:00.200work that needs to be done but i'll tell you something if you are going to get that done
01:26:04.120and a federal system of government like ours you're going to run into folks in alberta are
01:26:08.520going to say to us no no you're not going to feather the feds are not going to impose on us
01:26:13.160anything about natural resources it has to be a cooperative approach and and that's exactly what
01:26:19.480i practiced all of my political life thank you mr shray mr poly of 30 seconds well the problem is
01:26:27.080that the trudeau liberals are imposing on alberta they're imposing rules that make it impossible for
01:26:31.800Alberta to export its product and also even to send it to other Canadians so we need to repeal
01:26:37.8006069 c48 we need a simple process for for future approvals and we need to speed up the approvals
01:26:44.280of all natural resource projects so that it's not just oil and gas but also lithium graphite
01:26:50.120cobalt and countless other minerals that are staying in the ground today because it takes
01:26:54.200five or six years to get anything approved in this country get the gatekeepers out of the way
01:26:58.680get digging mines building jobs producing paychecks thank you
01:27:07.400our next question is for mr babber uh dr lewis and mr your fellow leadership candidate mayor
01:27:15.400patrick brown chose not to participate in today's debate we can only speculate as to why we don't
01:27:22.840know we don't know but what we do know for certain is that some canadians are concerned
01:27:30.120that mayor brown is sowing division in our country he has been criticized for manipulating diaspora
01:27:36.920politics to bolster his campaign how does your strategy to grow the party differ from mayor
01:27:44.360brown's and what will you do to engage canadians of diverse backgrounds over to you mr babber
01:27:50.280Thank you. Look, I come from a North Toronto writing. We need to, first of all, appeal to urban voters, and that means we should feel comfortable talking about urban issues like transit. I'm in favour of building mass transit. Like housing, I'm going to offer a very robust housing plan by doubling the first-time homebuyer's exemption, by divesting ourselves of federal land that is not protected.
01:28:14.160And also, we need to expand our base by talking to new Canadians.
01:28:20.640I'm an immigrant to Canada myself, and I've had every blessing this country had to offer.
01:28:26.020I've had an opportunity to contribute to this country.
01:30:06.420Well, listen, the bottom line is that Patrick Brown says one thing in one room and exactly the opposite in another room.
01:30:13.600And that is what he has done throughout this campaign.
01:30:16.300It's what he did when he ran for leader of the Ontario PC party.
01:30:19.140He said that he was against the carbon tax.
01:30:21.460And then as soon as he became leader, he embraced Trudeau's carbon tax and said he would do Trudeau the favour of imposing it right here in Ontario.
01:30:29.860I've said the same thing on that issue and all other issues throughout my entire political career.
01:30:36.640And that is what I will continue to do.
01:32:40.180Add on Leah, get car insurance online for less. No big worker phone calls required.
01:32:47.400Going live is always so much fun. Boy, what a knock them down, drag out debate this has
01:32:51.940been so far though. It was almost worth leaving the Amber Heard testimony to come in and listen
01:32:56.680to this. Holy cow, it was heated. A bit of everything in there, wasn't it? Yeah, well,
01:33:01.960I expect maybe Sheree will accuse somebody of defecating somewhere untoward or something.0.98
01:33:05.820Oh, a grumpy. Oh, yes. A grumpy. That's right. Oh, looks like we might be back in. Here we go,0.85
01:33:11.800guys. Retirement plan. You're looking at them. And then I will be the leader that will unite
01:33:18.660the party thank you and elect a national conservative government thank you mr shray
01:33:25.460same question to you mr hsm and thank you for it i really it comes down to me
01:33:32.340it's about respect it's about dialogue it's about listening to each other i i i arrived here in 2019
01:33:38.820after a long career part-time career in municipal politics in huntsville last five years as mayor
01:33:44.500and i was alarmed at how many people in leadership positions in ottawa didn't understand the first
01:33:49.300thing about leadership it's about empowering it's about inspiring the people and the team
01:33:54.660around you to great things it's about engaging it doesn't happen and we need to do it in our
01:34:00.740movement we need to do it in this country as a member of prime a new member of parliament i've
01:34:04.740been to alberta three or four times now the first time i went i went to visit with mr tom commitch
01:34:09.540we went to tour some facilities and and everybody just kept saying you're from ontario
01:34:13.460you're you're an Ontario member of parliament what are you doing here in Alberta and I said
01:34:17.900well I have a national role now I think it's important to understand the entire country
01:34:21.380and that was foreign to them we need to listen to each other we need to do it in our caucus
01:34:28.380we need to do it in our movement unity is not uniformity but it is finding the compromise
01:34:34.520that moves us forward and shows that we have the courage and the character to be trusted to govern
01:34:39.860and lead this country thank you thank you mr. H and we're now going to open it up to open
01:34:46.920rebuttals on this question so everyone will get 30 seconds to respond on how you would keep
01:34:52.460Canada united we'll start with you mr. Babber thank you well I think first of all we have to
01:34:57.920recognize that there is life outside of Ontario and Quebec okay and we have to bring we have to
01:35:06.180bring the provinces and we have to bring Canadians coast to coast into the
01:35:09.940national conversation. Second of all, I think that we should unite our country
01:35:14.460behind a theme of economic opportunity, which I will unleash by making Canada
01:35:20.880into the natural resources superpower that we ought to be. And finally, I think
01:35:27.020that we need to respect our regional differences, but at the same thing,
01:35:30.860remember that we're all Canadian. And I'm seeing some of our Canadian values
01:35:35.840being eroded in the last couple of years whether it's democracy or canadian kindness that i talk
01:35:40.560about often we need like my friend scott attison says restore civility to the national conversation
01:35:48.640we need to start loving canadians again we're a wonderful country coast to coast and we need
01:35:53.360to welcome everyone into the national conversation thank you mr babber over to you dr lewis
01:35:59.520we need to respect the various regions of our country if we look at even a province like alberta
01:36:08.160we have implemented laws that have crippled their economy bill c48 and bill c69 actually favors
01:36:17.040foreign companies over canadian companies we need to make sure that we stop ottawa stops
01:36:23.280disrespecting certain regions even in the atlantic region the development of their natural resources
01:36:30.720are being inhibited by national laws and we need to make sure that each region comes together and
01:36:39.440their strengths help to bring prosperity to our nation thank you dr lewis mr palio well despite
01:36:49.280winning seven elections in ontario i'm actually a born and bred calgarian i understand the west yes
01:36:56.080applaud that i understand the west i grew up there spent my first two decades there my family still
01:37:01.200lives there and i'm proud to fight for western canadians in in ottawa even while i am an ontario
01:37:09.360mp i also remember the days when the party the national party got too liberal and we lost
01:37:14.560western support that risk still remains and that's why we need someone who is truly conservative
01:37:20.960who will stand up against carbon taxes and long gun registries and fight for the values that unite
01:37:25.920us across the country as conservatives only by uni uniting all conservatives in all regions of
01:37:32.000the country will we win the next election and bring fairness to every province thank you
01:37:37.760thank you mr palia mr hsn you have 30 seconds i'm sorry i'm 30 seconds to rebut what i've just
01:37:47.440put 30 seconds to add to anything about national unity or keeping the party together
01:37:51.920well i i don't think there's a lot more to add frankly i mean i i think what i think dismaying
01:37:56.880is that is that you see an awful lot of division uh even in this race uh there's a lot of you know
01:38:02.640if we can't if we put on a show that is divisive and and nasty with each other i just don't see how
01:38:09.440that unites all conservatives i don't see how it shows to canadians that we can that we can govern
01:38:15.760and we can lead we have to be more respectful with each other we can disagree without being
01:38:19.760disagreeable and that's that's the only way to unite our movement thank you and final word to
01:38:25.840you mr trey i actually think it would be a breath of fresh air to have a prime minister
01:38:32.960in ottawa who has been a premier of a province and who understands how this federal system works
01:38:39.600and i talk from experience i was part of a government that had albertans and quebecers
01:38:45.760and ontarians at the table and you know what when that happens all of a sudden people that
01:38:51.760it seemed far away in another region they have faces they have names they have families and
01:38:57.040they share the same values and big things get done in this country big things can't get done
01:39:05.520unless there is that leadership i'll give you an example on energy east did you ever hear mr
01:39:10.480trudeau say i am in favor of energies do you think a project of that size can get done if there's no
01:39:16.560leadership someone who grabs it and goes i know i've done it and that's the kind of prime minister
01:39:22.160that we i want to be and i will be and that will be true for albertans and for all canadians but
01:39:28.880we need to do that in fact when that happened that those were the days when the national energy
01:39:34.080program was axed when we had people around the table who agreed on those things that's when
01:39:40.240canada is at its best but please allow us to be that party allow us to meet that ambition
01:39:50.720and to be ambitious enough to grow our economy and recognize every canadian as being equal
01:39:56.720and every canadian as being part of the conservative family
01:40:00.080thank you all for your responses it's now time for closing statements and we will go in the
01:40:11.380reverse order of the opening statements and start with you dr lewis canada is the best country in
01:40:18.840the world and i want to make sure that the opportunities that i had growing up in this
01:40:24.160great country as a child will be there for future generations millions of canadians can't travel on
01:40:31.120a plane in their own country our charter needs to be defended parents have a right to raise their
01:40:39.200children in accordance with their values and i will introduce a parental rights bill to stop
01:40:46.240government encroachment on parental rights seniors disabled veterans have a right to live
01:40:53.920in dignity and every single reserve should have clean water we must restore freedom and prosperity
01:41:02.400to canada once again by bringing back jobs and developing our natural resources while
01:41:08.880protecting our environment i will use my education in environmental studies and international law
01:41:16.400to defend our sovereignty against global organizations like the who and the wef
01:41:23.680i will strengthen our democracy and bring back freedom and prosperity to canada once again
01:41:38.080mr aitchison thank you thank you for being here tonight and contributing to the future of our move
01:41:43.760and of our country our values and principles are timeless acting on them and leading with respect
01:41:50.880is the right approach for our movement's success our politics are increasingly divided we have
01:41:57.680stopped respecting those that we disagree with if we conservatives are going to grow our party
01:42:02.880and succeed we cannot try to out divide canadians the way justin trudeau does we must lead with
01:42:08.800respect and bring our country together this is the right approach to attract canadians to our
01:42:14.560movement and it is the way to lead to better government that's capable of delivering results
01:42:21.120we need real principled leadership in ottawa that unites canadians and that's why i'm running to
01:42:25.920be the next leader of the conservative party whether it's affordability defending free speech
01:42:31.360housing foreign affairs we are living in extraordinary times working together we can
01:42:38.160make life better for all canadians but first we must work hard to invite more of them to join us
01:42:44.320in this quest and that starts by leading with respect thank you
01:42:55.520as i said at the outset people feel like they're losing control of their lives
01:42:59.280it could be the teenager sunk into depression because of two years separated from sporting
01:43:04.400and social activities or the trucker who after being called a hero for two years delivering our
01:43:13.120products and services across the border without a vaccine suddenly became a villain or a lawbreaker
01:43:20.880in the eyes of some liberals or the 32 year old living in his parents basement because home prices
01:43:27.440has doubled or the single mom skipping meals so our kids don't have to i'm running for prime
01:43:33.120minister to give these people back control of their lives by ending vaccine mandates
01:43:38.000so that people can make their own medical decisions by tackling the inflationary deficits
01:43:44.640and taxes that have driven up the cost of living and reigning in the bank of canada back to its
01:43:50.320original mandate and also banning it from bringing in a central bank digital currency
01:43:55.040i'm running for prime minister to restore economic freedom but also freedom of expression so that
01:44:00.160people can speak clearly and openly without fear i'm running for canada for prime minister to make
01:44:05.760this the freest country on earth so you can take back control of your life thank you
01:44:15.680mr sure thank you i i'm running to be the leader of the conservative party of canada
01:44:23.120And the parties need to, I think, accept the challenge of Canadians, because this is our moment, to meet that challenge so that we can unite the party and unite the country.
01:44:39.620It's nothing less than that. It is an extraordinary task, but one that requires a lot of determination to stand up and fight for what is right, including as we heard tonight about Bill 21, which is a test, a test of real leadership.
01:44:59.440Let's not lose sight of the fact that if we are divided, that hangs on Justin Trudeau.
01:45:05.400He's the Prime Minister of the country.
01:45:07.780The number one responsibility of any Prime Minister is to keep the country united.
01:54:09.560And Jason Kenny over there, he's probably just happy that for a change,
01:54:13.460somebody else's on the hot seat and he's not in the middle of it.
01:54:18.080Um, that guy might feed speculation about where Kenny's priorities are too,
01:54:23.600though. I mean, he's facing, I guess there's only so much he can do,
01:54:25.760but he's got his leadership review coming up in a 10 days or so.
01:54:29.660And he's hanging out rubbing shoulders in Ottawa.
01:54:31.740Is that necessarily the best place he could be?
01:54:33.680Well, I mean, there's no, no, you know, we're already past the deadline for, to be a member.
01:54:38.960It's just a matter of getting them mailed in by next week now.
01:54:41.760So it'd be interesting to see if other conservative leaders, you know, like Scott Moe, for example, if, if, if he is there for the, for the weekend.
01:54:50.360So, yeah, this is a whole weekend conference.
01:54:52.160I mean, just to remind viewers, if they're not familiar, it's the Canada Strong and Free Network.
02:06:59.500And we saw that, again, with some of his other policies.
02:07:01.320For example, most of the candidates on the stage tonight were very critical of COVID-19 lockdowns, as were most conservatives.
02:07:07.040And Ashton sort of said, well, you know, they were necessary because of where we saw our health care system, our health care system was so fragile.
02:07:13.500And so we weren't really sure what was going on at first.
02:07:15.680And that's why it was so necessary to have these policies.
02:08:28.140Not one time on that stage did I hear anyone say that they support carbon taxes.
02:08:32.140So from all the pundits a few months ago that said that carbon taxes were a debt issue and carbon taxes are here to stay, that's simply not true.
02:08:47.780For sure. Well, it's too bad we didn't see some of the things you would have liked.
02:08:50.200Maybe next debate. Fingers crossed, right?
02:08:52.480Well, next debate, we need candidates to be proactive and give taxpayers a concrete plan
02:08:57.220and a concrete timeline on how they're going to stop the deep dive into debt.
02:09:01.300For sure. All right. Anything to add, Franklin?
02:09:03.320Well, one other good thing that we heard from a lot of these candidates was actually on accountability.
02:09:07.380We heard a few different candidates say that they would repeal or stop or scrap Bill C-11,
02:09:13.260formerly Bill C-10, which is the online censorship bill.
02:09:16.080So it's great to see multiple different candidates actually come out here and speak out against unelected bureaucrats, putting our online content under their microscope, because that's bad news for government accountability.
02:09:28.120Absolutely. All right, Franco, thank you very much.