No-brainer: Conservatives reject proposed change for picking party leader
OTTAWA— Conservative Party members, flush from their majority election win, overwhelmingly voted down a proposed change in how the party leader is picked, leaving small ridings with the same clout as big ones.
The debate, which at times resembled a proxy battle between the old leadership factions of Peter MacKay from the PC side, and the Reform/Alliance side of the party which saw Stephen Harper elected, was heated.
MP Scott Reid had marshalled support from influential MPs and cabinet ministers like Jason Kenney—whose future leadership aspirations would have been helped by the change.
But with the prevailing mood at the convention a jubilant celebration of party unity and the system that got the Tories to the first majority government in 23 years, the proposal died a swift death.
Reid argued Stephen Harper signed onto the original deal that brought the two parties together, but agreed to the current voting system that gives all ridings, big or small, equal weight when it comes to electing the party leader as a “one time only” deal.
Reid said the best thing would now be to move toward a system “designed to be a hybrid of one-member-one -vote and the old system of equal ridings.”
But when Nova Scotia’s MacKay stood up “as one of the signatories of the reunification of the Conservative family,” a loud and rousing cheer rose from the room.
MacKay told the more than 2,200 voting delegates that “basic principles dictate that equality is equality.”
He urged delegates to vote down any changes, saying the current system “has worked for our party.”
“It elected our leader; it brought us to a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government,” said MacKay to another round of cheers from the floor. “Let’s keep the process that works, let’s win more majority governments with a system proven to succeed.”
MacKay met resistance from Sen. Doug Finley who objected, and claimed to be the only person in the convention hall who had run a national leadership campaign – Harper’s – under the current rules. Finley said the system doesn’t work, but “is broken” and added “the opportunity for abuse…is absolutely unbelievable.”
He argued that it did not produce the majority win, but “accidentally produced a leader who gave us a majority. Vote for balanced leadership.”
Other prominent Conservatives, environment minister Peter Kent and MP Michael Chong urged delegates to “leave well enough alone.”
With a show of red cards, “the motion is clearly defeated,” declared moderator Daniel Bellemare who suggested “60 to 70 per cent” had voted against the change.
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