Conservative leadership candidates attempt deeper dive into policy at debate
OTTAWA — Candidates for leadership of the federal Conservative party went four rounds Friday in a debate aimed at providing an opportunity for a deep dive into policy.
But the cut-and-thrust of politics remained on display even as the format of having 14 people on stage at once was dissolved into smaller groups of candidates debating specific policy themes, one group at a time.
The debate at the Manning Conference saw the contenders appear before a crowd of the conservative movement’s most ardent advocates and activists, self-described political junkies eager to shell out the cash to spend a weekend debating ideology and brushing up on political marketing tactics.
So when Deepak Obhrai lashed out at Kevin O’Leary’s apparent lack of knowledge over how transfer payments are doled out to the provinces — O’Leary threatened to cut them for any province with a carbon tax — raucous cheering ensured.