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At Issue

With Philip Shaw

New PC Leader Is Off to a Tough Start

Wednesday, June 4, 2003

Sooner or later there is going to be a change in our federal government. But after the train wreck last weekend in Toronto at the Progressive Conservative convention, it might not be in my lifetime. I'm just kidding of course, but wow, did the train ever come off the PC tracks. Peter MacKay, the new federal PC leader sure has a lot of explaining to do.
For those of you who have a life, please stay with me for a minute. The Progressive Conservatives, the fourth party in the House of Commons had their leadership convention last week. Four candidates ran led by Peter MacKay, an MP from Nova Scotia, David Orchard, a Saskatchewan farmer, Jim Prentice, a Calgary lawyer and Scott Brison, another MP from Nova Scotia. MacKay was the favourite.
As the convention started, it all went along to the script. MacKay was leading on the first and second ballot. But he was not getting over the top. After Brison and Prentice joined forces after the second ballot, the third ballot produced a scenario where Orchard was in third behind MacKay and Prentice. At that point MacKay signed a written agreement with Orchard to garner his support. Orchard and MacKay crossed the floor and MacKay ultimately was victorious.
That might seem reasonable to political neophytes, but in the conservative movement it was like Elsie Wayne agreeing to be grand marshal of the Toronto Gay Pride Parade. David Orchard, was once described by former PC leader Joe Clark as a "tourist in the party." In 1998 he ran on an "anti-free trade" agenda against Joe Clark for the leadership. At that time he was characterized as a fringe, maverick type of candidate.
But this guy has staying power. He has a solid following in this country and he translated that into a core within the Conservative convention. You might even argue his views concerning "free-trade" are more mainstream than those of some of our political leaders. Just ask the guys at Navistar what they think of free trade.
At the end of the day, his support was for sale to either Prentice or MacKay. Whoever would sign a written agreement guaranteeing a blue ribbon review panel on the effects of free trade and no formal or informal arrangement with the Canadian Alliance would get his support. Prentice said no, coached by Brison. MacKay blinked. It's hard to figure out why. Many political pundits think MacKay could have won the convention without Orchard's help.
It was stunning because the Progressive Conservatives were the party that saw the Canada US free trade agreement as their crowning glory. Agreeing to review this process, especially being forced by Orchard, has sent the party machinery both at the local and national level into disarray. Clearly, in the aftermath of the convention, Peter MacKay will be doing the shifty shuffle to massage a whole bunch of egos.
At the same time, you can bet David Orchard won't be quiet on this one. He has a point as well as the constituency to back him up. He is being treated as a "virus" by the media and the hierarchy of the PC party. He doesn’t deserve that. What he deserves is some real credit for standing up for what he believes in and having the fortitude to forge it onto the national stage.
At the same time, it's very important to keep this all in perspective. This is the not the PC party of Mulroney, Joe Clark, Robert Stanfield and John Diefenbaker. No, no, this group is in fourth place in the House and there isn't a lot of hope for upward movement, especially with the Canadian Alliance still around. So in a way, it's almost like whose molehill is bigger.
At the same time this past weekend, finance minister, John Manley and heritage minister, Sheila Copps continued their doomed efforts to derail the Paul Martin train. But this train isn't going to come off the tracks. But with all political eyes focused on the key stone cops in Toronto, almost nobody noticed.
This may be the golden opportunity the Canadian Alliance has been waiting for. With the PC's convulsing into civil war, opposition leader Stephen Harper has a golden opportunity to engage disaffected Tories. At the very least he should make another effort to get the two Canadian conservative parties under one roof. With the PCs currently deciding when to review "free trade", maybe some common sense is about to break out.
But after the events of last weekend, I think that might be a little too much to ask.





Philip Shaw, farms 830 acres near Dresden, Ontario. He holds a Masters of Agricultural Economics and Business Degree from the University of Guelph and is a well-known commentator on agricultural issues in print, on radio and over satellite in Canada and the United States. In the Chatham-Kent Times, Phil will use his frank and forthright writing style to address political and economic issues from the local to the international stage. He is a keen observer of political life at all levels, reads widely and has travelled the world to gather fodder for his column. See what's At Issue this week.