Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod has endorsed new Conservative leader Erin O'Toole from 2017 until his leadership win (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

NEW CONSERVATIVE LEADER

Kamloops MP McLeod celebrating O’Toole’s Conservative leadership win

Aug 24, 2020 | 3:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — Erin O’Toole promises to lean on Conservative values, focusing largely on the Canadian economy and its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new Conservative leader is someone Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod supported during his first leadership run in 2017 and again during this one. McLeod says O’Toole, as a former Royal Canadian Air Force officer, will bring an analytical perspective to the party.

“What I like about Erin is he’s really policy-oriented,” she noted. “He’s thoughtful. His RMC (Royal Military College of Canada) training is you have a problem, you analyze and you have a strategic plan to go forward, so I think he’s going to be the person that’ll be best suited in terms of helping us move forward.”

O’Toole becomes the Conservative leader during a tumultuous time in Canadian politics. The Liberal government has been rocked by scandal with the WE Charity controversy being the latest involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It ultimately led to Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s resignation.

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McLeod feels her leader has an opportunity to capitalize on the Liberals’ shortcomings.

“We need to clearly point out to Canadians what our concerns are with how the current government is managing things,” said McLeod. “What I like about Erin’s acceptance speech was he talked about how we need to also present our vision. We need to share with Canadians about how we believe we can and should do things.”

TRU political science professor Robert Hanlon says this marks a new beginning for the Conservatives with a potential election as early as next year.

However, Hanlon says the Conservatives still face their own challenges. It’s a party that could not dethrone Trudeau, despite momentum shifting away from the Liberals heading into the 2019 election. He notes the party will need to become united, but also come together on key policies.

“How does the Conservative Party, what’s their grand strategy? What’s their vision for the future? What’s their economic plan in this time of a global health crisis?” Hanlon told CFJC Today via Skype. “They’re going to have to convince Canadians they have a strong vision, one that’s more broadly-based and appeals more to general Canadians than the Liberal Party is currently putting out there.”

That will include a comprehensive climate change plan that Canadians can buy into. It’s also a matter of taking advantage, as McLeod noted, of the scandal-ridden Liberals.

“I don’t know how many more ethic scandals the Liberals can take, so it’s going to be reminding the public and reminding the other parties constantly about those controversies and those needing to be addressed and dealt with,” said Hanlon.

However, the President of the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo NDP Riding Association Bill Sundhu says O’Toole already has a few marks on his record that could hurt him moving forward.

“Mr. O’Toole was around the Cabinet table with Stephen Harper when, with the support of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, they attacked Canadian freedoms with Bill C-51 (Act to Amend the Criminal Code),” noted Sundhu. “And like Justin Trudeau, Mr. O’Toole says a lot of nice things, but while he was Minister of Veterans Affairs, veterans were forced to wait for the support they deserved and offices that were supposed to serve our veterans were shut down.”

If there is to be a snap election, Hanlon says O’Toole will need to build relationships with the other opposition leaders, who will need to come together for a non-confidence vote.