Political right announces historic merger (Canada)

cbc ^ | 10-16-03

[hotpotato]

OTTAWA — Leaders of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance will announce Thursday morning that an agreement in principle has been reached to merge the two parties.

Saint John MP Elsie Wayne, one of four New Brunswick Tory MPs, says the Canadian Alliance has in essence agreed to rejoin the Conservatives. Wayne intitially opposed the merger, but says the terms of this deal are too attractive to turn down.

"They have agreed to everything, including how to choose a leader, in which every one of our ridings would be treated equally," she said.

"Let's not look at it as 'us versus the Tories' in what's coming together. It's 'us getting together with the Tories in one party,' making sure we work together," said Alliance leader Stephen Harper Wednesday, who was on his way to Ottawa from a Calgary airport.

"Clearly negotiations have reached a point where we may have something in principle to give Canadians a choice in the next election, not the one after that, or the one after that," said Tory leader Peter MacKay.

If the agreement succeeds, it will reunite conservatives 16 years after separating over regional differences.

The right-wing parties would be united under the name The Conservative Party. The two parties will be given until Dec. 12 to ratify the deal.

After months of negotiations, the parties overcame a major stumbling block – how to choose a new leader. Tories have won concessions from the Alliance on the leadership question, getting agreement on a method that gives each riding association equal say in the election. The Tories used it in 1998 when they chose Joe Clark.

A vote would be held on March 21 to select the leader.

The merger needs to be ratified by both parties' caucuses, executives and by general memberships. This could challenge the Conservatives, since such a change would need to be approved by two-thirds of the members.

Potential leadership candidates include former Ontario Premier Mike Harris and two former Tory leadership candidates, Scott Brison and Jim Prentice .

Tom Long, who ran for the Alliance leadership in 2000, and was an advisor to Harris, says with a merger deal at hand, both sides will have to bury the hatchet.

"There's a lot of common ground. We've just spent the last 10 to 15 years focusing a microscope on everything we disagree on."

Rick Anderson, the Reform Party's campaign director and a key architect of the unite the right movement which led to the Canadian Alliance, said the new party's focus will have to remain on western Canada.

"I think it would be foolish for the Alliance to walk away from a strong western base. That's not to say it doesn't need to continue expanding in other parts of the country."

[Beck_isright]

So there is still a chance that a party will get elected in Canada that will demand freedom and independence from France. Thank God.

[goldstategop]

I doubt it. Canadian conservatives have yet to demonstrate they can offer voters a competent alternative government and until they do get their own political house in order, Canadian voters will stick with the devil they know, the Liberals.

[HamiltonJay]

Wow!! The RIGHT in Canada finally figured out the reason their country keeps going further left isn't because the left outnumbers the right, but because the right keeps splitting its votes every election cycle? My God Man! There may be hope up there yet!

Keep your stick on the ice.

[goldstategop]

IF they can all put their personal egos aside for the good of the country. I wouldn't bet an Ontario farm on it happening yet.

[hotpotato]

Sounds familiar (thinking... California republicans)

[headsonpikes]

I don't know if Canadians have had enough well-deserved punishment yet for electing the goofs they do.

In the next election, Ontario will decide whether or not to continue down the CanSoc path; Quebec is committed.

We in the West have had enough for over 20 years, I can assure you. If this new 'Conservative' party goes nowhere in the East, the clock will begin ticking very rapidly towards the de-confederation of Canada.

[Snuffington]

Canadian ping

[IvanT]

Yes they did, but the cure is much worse than the disease. To stop the vote splitting they're handed over the keys to a bunch of socialist Red Tories.

This is not an accurate statement. I'm not sure where you get this from, but the Alliance is the official opposition, not the Tories. MacKay would sell his own mother up the creek, so I wouldn't worry about him. Once Mike Harris jumps on board, it's entirely likely Canada will have a new conservative Prime Minister.

[IvanT]

Stop, you're scaring me man!

[Grig]

From what I heard, each riding will have 100 'points', those points will be divided up between the leadership candidates according to the % of the vote they get in that riding, so it isn't exactly one-member-one-vote, but not exactly a pure delegate system either. Since the CA membership way outnumbers PC membership I don't think that there is any call for doom and gloom.

On top of this, it's very likely that Mike Harris would run for the leadership, and many members of both parties would have no problem with voting for him.

It's still an uphill battle, but the defeat of the Liberal party is well within reach now and that is a wonderful thing.

[headsonpikes]

...the defeat of the Liberal party is well within reach now and that is a wonderful thing.

A wonderful thing, to be sure, and there's not enough wonders in this world!

Go, Ontario! Elect Conservatives! ;^)

[DTA]

"fly united" ping

[Snowyman]

This will not be the CA , nor the PCPC. Wayne is wrong on her CA joining the PCPC statement . She'd do well to shut up at this point.

Assets will be joined, but new memberships will need to be taken out , if the vote is successful on Dec. 12th. Both old parties may still exist , in one shape or another . With the exception that they will be gutted for members .
The Orchardites will , for example, be barred from the CPC to the left , to the PCPC , were they belong.

The difference will be the Conservative Party of Canada will be in the center of each. And that will being back those who have had no choice, who have had no say.

The biggest problem is time . Martin will pull a spring election .

And I'm not sure about Harris , if he would survive the leap to Federal politics . Day would not win east of Manitoba , Clark will be beheaded in Calgary and gone (and rewarded by the Liberals with a senate seat :) ). Forget Quebec. The lone PCPC MP there is already bailing to the Liberals.

Harris, Harper, maybe Lord. Don't think MacKay

Going to be fun...

[Squawk 8888]

Yet again they're going to sell out their principles for "electablity" and once again they're going to get nothing but political death and ignominy.

You think they'd learn- Mike Harris' Common Sense Revolution took the Ontario party from a distant third to two consecutive victories but the Red Tories will probably write him off as "unelectable". I'd wager he could deliver 25-30 seats in Ontario and probably a similar number in Québec (even though he doesn't speak French he's had better relations with that province than any other premier). Given the 2000 results, just a dozen seats in Ontario could be enough to topple the Libs.