Just how did the Conservative Party leadership race manage to become interesting?
Normally, a party leadership race consists of the contenders vigorously agreeing with one another about how awful the other parties are, then arguing over which of them would do a better job as future PM.
But this Tory race seems to have unleashed a clown-car full of odd candidates.
Let’s consider a few!
Chris Alexander, the former minister of citizenship and immigration, wants to increase immigration to 400,000 people a year and 40,000 refugees, but he was also the point man for the “barbaric cultural practices” tip line and the foot-dragging reaction to the Syrian refugee crisis during the 2015 federal election. Between those two positions, it’s safe to say he’s alienated about 90 per cent of Canadians.
Michael Chong has gotten a lot of attention, possibly because he’s an excellent candidate for Liberal leader. Chong wants a revenue-neutral carbon tax to fight climate change, a collection of words that, coming from a Tory, provoke genuine shock.
Then there’s Kellie Leitch, a.ka. Donald Trump’s northern avatar. Her “Canadian values” screening for immigrants has gotten a lot of attention, but did you know she also wants to dismantle the CBC and crack down on environmental protests?
And finally there’s Kevin O’Leary. His policies are a mixture of right and left, but his tactics are straight from reality TV. O’Leary faces some hurdles if he wants to be the second reality star to run a North American country. His persona can kindly be described as that of a jackass. He has no history with the Conservative Party. He’s treating the campaign as a kind of buffet, from which he is selecting only the events he finds appetizing. That may not go over well with the party faithful.
I have no idea who will emerge victorious. I am certain that this race will be one for the history books.
