Harper wins Conservative leadership

Globe and Mail (Toronto) ^ | March 20, 2004

[Clive]

Stephen Harper beat Belinda Stronach and Tony Clement to become the first leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada on Saturday.

Mr. Harper won 296 of 308 ridings, accumulating 16,148.9 points, or 56 per cent of the vote on the first ballot. Belinda Stronach followed with 10,196.2 points, 34 per cent, and Tony Clement trailed with 2,755 points, or 9 per cent.

The number of points needed to win was 15,400.1

In his victory speech, Mr. Harper made it clear that the party will set its sights on the Liberals.

"There's going to be a takeover," he told the 1,500 assembled party members. "The Conservatives taking over the government of Canada, that's what we're doing."

But having cemented the party with a new leader, Mr.Harper also acknowledged that the Conservatives would now face the fiercest challenge yet from the ruling party.

"The tired, old, corrupt Liberal party is cornered like an angry rat," he said. "They are going to attack us like never before."

A merger between the former Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties several months ago formed the new Conservative Party of Canada, which moved quickly to ratify the agreement, establish new riding organizations, nominate candidates and hold a leadership convention.

More than a quarter of a million party members were eligible to vote in ridings across the country in a process that continued to elicit complaints until the final hours of campaigning on Friday.

Under the preferential balloting system, party members were asked to vote by ranking the candidates in order of preference.

If no one was declared a victor on the first count with more than 50 per cent support, the third-place finisher would be dropped from the ballot. The second choices of that candidate's supporters would then be allocated to the two remaining hopefuls.

Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to call an election as early as April, and observers say the ongoing sponsorship scandal has left his Liberal government vulnerable. Many hope the new Conservatives will pose a viable alternative to the federal Liberals.

Delegates at the Toronto leadership convention Saturday were focused on a bright future for the conservative movement. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein delivered an afternoon keynote address on the topic.

"For me this is a dream come true," Mr. Klein said. "For the past four or five years...I've talked about a unified party. And I've mentioned that it's always been a dream of mine not to have a Progressive Conservative party and a Reform or an Alliance conservative party, but a Conservative party. And the Conservative party of Canada."

Offering a brief lesson on the history of Conservatism in Canada, Mr. Klein encouraged party members to aim toward taking the party to a strong position on the federal stage.

"I needn't tell you it was a Conservative, John A. Macdonald, who first held the job of Canadian Prime Minsiter, thus beginning in the 19th century a process of nation building under Conservative principals," he said.

"I am confident that this Conservative party will soon take its place as the true Canadian nation builder of the 21st century."

In his usual rabble-rousing style, Mr. Klein took shots at the federal Liberals. He joked about being chosen as the speaker because rock star Bono, who was the guest speaker at the Liberal convention, was unavailable. He reprimanded the Chrétien government's handling of the sponsorship scandal with an impersonation of the former prime minister, Québécois accent and all, and said the current Liberals had lost sight of values.

"When you talk about values, they say 'What? What is that word, values?'" Mr. Klein said. "Well, today each of you here is sending a message to the Liberals and that message is: we are conservatives, we are united and yes, Mr. Martin, we are back. In a big way."

Mr. Harper was born and raised in Toronto — his father was an executive with Imperial Oil. He moved to Calgary in 1978, studying economics and working in the oil industry, before politics lured him away.

Preston Manning, founder of the Reform Party and its first leader, was at first very impressed with Mr. Harper, appointing him chief policy officer for the nascent party in 1987.

Mr. Harper worked as an assistant to Conservative MP Jim Hawkes and then to Deborah Grey when she was elected in 1989 as the Reform Party's first MP.

But he clashed repeatedly with Mr. Manning and left politics in 1997 after one term as an MP, to head the National Citizens Coalition. He then snatched the leadership of the nascent Canadian Alliance from Stockwell Day, whose political fumbles had handed Mr. Chrétien another majority government in 2000 and created a schism within the Alliance.

Mr. Harper healed that schism, wooing dissident MPs back into the Alliance caucus without embittering the Day faction, then helped engineer the merger of the Alliance and Tories with Progressive Conservative leader Peter McKay.

Mr. Harper is still trying to recover support in Atlantic provinces, after alienating them in 2002 by saying their reliance on federal handouts had bred a "culture of defeat" in the region.

Mr. Harper made one of the strongest speeches of his career when he wound up his campaign in Toronto on Friday night.

In true front-runner's style, he directed his criticisms at Paul Martin, rather than the Conservative leadership underdogs, promising to hold the Prime Minister accountable for the Liberal sponsorship scandal.

He promised to "put money in the pockets of taxpayers, not line the pockets of the government's friends," toughen up on crime, cut red tape, and elect, rather than appoint, senators.

[saluki_in_ohio]

I do believe that Canadian Conservatives have a chance against the scandal-plagued Liberals now.

Go get'em, neighbor! Take no prisoners!

[NYCVirago]

Clinton must be in tears.

[NYCVirago]

I confess I don't know much about this race, other than that Belinda is an heiress who hangs out with Clinton, but just from Harper's quotes, he sounds a lot more articulate than she is.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Clemenza]

One of Clinton's ex-girlfriends (a major CINO from the old "Progressive Conservative"/Mulroney gang) has been defeated big time. Good news from above Champlain for a change.

[Valin]

Bump

[NYC GOP Chick]

One of Clinton's ex-girlfriends (a major CINO from the old "Progressive Conservative"/Mulroney gang) has been defeated big time.

I can't imagine how much of a conservative she can be if she hangs out with Clintigula.

[GeronL]

Yes indeed, we have just finished paying $29,242 for a new dining room carpet for Rideau Hall because of red wine stains caused by the Governor General's guests.

Good lord, let me guess, they want nothing but the best, most expensive, carpets?

[Colonel_Flagg]

Belinda is an heiress who hangs out with Clinton

Well, if that's true, she's obviously picked the wrong Democrat. Musta got Bubba confused with Lurch.

[Clive]

The story was that Belinda is Clinton's girlfriend.

It was a bad joke on my part. I was taking a shot at Clinton's behaviour in the Oval Office with a different girlfriend.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Too bad for the Manchurian Concubine...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"There's going to be a takeover," he told the 1,500 assembled party members. "The Conservatives taking over the government of Canada, that's what we're doing."

Sounds like a good plan.

[Grig]

This is the best news Canada has gotten in a long, LONG time. Harper is a totaly relatable, middle class guy who has a fantastic grasp of the issues and personal integrity out the wazoo. The media is now saying that a Conservative minortity government is a possibility, but I think that's a given and a MAJORITY government is within reach with this leader.

It's interesting that the timing of leadership race and the expected election has created what is esentially a Primary Race like the US has.

[Stallone]

https://www.oneconservativevoice.ca/english/stephen/index.html

The creation of the new Conservative Party is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take our shared conservative values and make them the driving force of Canadian politics. I have spent a lifetime fighting for these values. In my years with the PC Party, Reform, and the Canadian Alliance, I have always stood for:

Free enterprise and fiscal responsibility;
Accountability in government and democratic reform;
Individual freedom and personal responsibility;
Traditional values and sustainable social programs;
Strong criminal justice and a strong national defence.

[Stallone]

Stephen Harper, his wife Laureen, and children Ben and Rachel, enjoy a day out in Bowness Park in Calgary.

[CanadianBloodAmericanHeart]

I've got news for all you dreamers...with the exception of Mike Harris, just about every Canadian politician has a left wing streak in them. They are all destined to continue wallowing in their self made cesspool of social engineering. I'd be suprised to see Harper not cater to the left in some way.

[Snowyman]

I've got news for all you dreamers...with the exception of Mike Harris, just about every Canadian politician has a left wing streak in them.

Got news for you , Mike has a right left wing too . Or is that a left right wing?

Clive, I heard the carpet was $92,000, A special weave that would stop the pink socked footman as he totters around in high heels from snagging a thread .

And why is everyone so eager to give Clinton so much credit ? For doing nothing. There is no evidence, unless one considers the grocery store rags a source of credible news , that Stronach ever had anything more than a passing casual relationship with Clinton . I didn't support her but this kind of crappy innuendo is just that . Crappy innuendo.

Stronach did a hell of a service for the CPC by running , isn't stupid , has won her nomination in Newmarket and hopefully will be around for a long time .

[SB00]

Very good choice.

Harper will make a fine prime minister of Canada after the upcoming Canadian election.

[SB00]

http://www.oneconservativevoice.ca/