Two years ago, Jean Charest suggested that the Conservative Party had changed what it knew before.
Today, he seeks to lead it. In an interview with Mercedes Stephenson of The West Block, Charest stood firm that he can win the party’s leadership race, despite claims by his rivals that hundreds of thousands of members have signed up.
Read more: Liberal and NDP voters prefer Charest and Brown as Conservative leaders – poll
“Well, the answer is yes, and I’ll win that,” Charest said after being asked about the polls that put him behind alleged favorite Pierre Poilievre.
“I think the key question is, are you tired of losing? We’ve lost three consecutive election campaigns and it’s not so much that Mr. Trudeau won the last campaign, the Conservatives actually lost the last campaign. I’ll win this game and I will win a national government. “
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The former Conservative progressive has the job done, first to beat Poilievre, the Carleton MP who has spent his entire political career being the sharp end of the party’s spear, and then to figure out how to rally a coalition of voters strong enough to defeat Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
Global News reported that Charest believes it has a path to victory, despite the number of eligible voters its rivals claim to have closed. The Poilievre camp has suggested more than 311,000 members, more than the total number of members eligible to vote in the 2020 leadership contest. Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has said 150,000 more are registered.
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According to the party, leadership campaigns should expect about 600,000 eligible members, meaning that sales of Poilievre and Brown members account for 75 percent of voters in the leadership competition.
“I mean, it’s relevant,” Charest said of member sales.
Read more: Patrick Brown does not rule out the return of city politics if “Pierre was going to win”
“But if you have 10,000 members in one constituency, it’s worth 100 points (in the Conservative leadership system) and if you have 100 members in one constituency it’s worth 100 points.”
If Charest manages to get an annoying victory over Poilievre, the most daunting task could be to win over the party caucus, which has overwhelmingly supported Poilievre.
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Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole was undermined by a caucus riot after denying her promise not to pass a carbon tax and losing the 2021 election. O’Toole has recently made the rounds, suggesting that foreign interference hurt the party during those elections, but the flaws within the conservative caucus are deeper.
O’Toole followed Andrew Scheer, who sided with him after losing the 2019 general election, despite the caucus ’support.
Charest has put at its center point for Conservative voters that it can break the cycle of party losses by appealing to centrist voters in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. But that was part of O’Toole’s playing field, and it wasn’t enough to save him.
Read more: Conservatives are confident that the leadership vote will not be delayed despite the increase in members
“The history of the last two leadership races has been very clear. The favorite has lost, “Charest said.
“And the reason for that is that they beat the first ballot, (and) they are not anyone’s second choice, which is the story of Mr. Poilievre, and whoever is the strongest ends up winning the race. That’s how Erin O’Toole became the leader, and that’s how Andrew Scheer became the leader. “
“And that’s how I’m going to become the leader of this party,” Charest added.