Conservatives to select interim leader
Posted November 5, 2015 8:05 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOVUER (NEWS 1130) – With the new Trudeau government now in place, the Conservatives are picking up the pieces and looking at how to rebuild their party, including who will replace Stephen Harper.
It is a decision that will set the tone for the Tories, at least temporarily, as the party votes for an interim leader today at its first caucus meeting since being humbled in last month’s election.
“That person is responsible for trying to make sure the machinery for rebuilding is there,” says Gerald Baier, an associate professor of political science at UBC.
“But also they are going to be leader of the official opposition, so they’ll have to be ready to be a scrutinizer of the incoming government. They have to be ready to play that role even if, to some degree, they are in the wilderness after losing power.”
Baier says many people still voted for the Conservatives last month and they will be looking for the party to hold the Liberals to account. Today’s vote will also say a lot about the party’s direction in the months ahead.
“Is this going to be the Conservative Party of the Stephen Harper era with a strong Alliance/Reform vibe to it? Or is it going to be a bit more of a centrist party along the lines of the older Progressive Conservatives?”
Whatever direction the party decides to go in, Baier says the Tories have to think about how to make themselves more relevant and appealing to Canadians.
Eight Tory MPs have been lobbying hard for the job of interim leader, including Diane Finley, Rob Nicholson and Rona Ambrose.
