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Social conservatives are much more cautious about who they support, having done so for Erin O’Toole, who left them out.
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May 31, 2022 • 5 hours ago • 4 minutes of reading • 156 comments Federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has a conflicting track record when it comes to conservative social issues. Photo by Peter J. Thompson / National Post / File
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Will social conservatives play a role in Pierre Poilievre’s possible path to victory in the Conservative leadership race?
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, a Social Conservative supporter of the party, said he would recommend to his supporters that they mark Leslyn Lewis, the only candidate openly in favor of career life, as a first choice while encouraging them to qualify. Poilievre, which is pro-life. choice – second.
“Both are strong conservatives, of principles and capable leaders,” he tweeted.
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Tonight I will send an email to my contact list supporting @LeslynLewis to lead the Conservative Party and encouraging people to put the number 2 next to @PierrePoilievre. Both are strong conservatives, of principles and capable leaders. The membership deadline is June 3rd. #cdnpoli
– Garnett Genuis (@GarnettGenuis) May 27, 2022
Although the pro-life groups RightNow and Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) agree that Lewis should get the first vote of its members in the preferential vote to choose the next leader, they do not agree to classify Poilievre second to the vote.
RightNow interviewed the six candidates and gave them ratings based on their potential to win, their pro-life policies, and their voting history on abortion or assisted death issues.
Lewis got an 80% mark, while Poilievre got a 68% approval mark mostly thanks to his potential to win the race. Roman Baber, who scored more points than Poilievre on pro-life politics, scored 56 percent according to RightNow.
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The other three candidates – Jean Charest, Patrick Brown and Scott Aitchison – scored the fewest points, ranging from 30 to 39 percent.
Scott Hayward, co-founder of RightNow, said members should not feel compelled to follow the suggested classification when asked to vote this summer. In fact, he has heard from members that only Lewis will be ranked as his number one choice and no one else after.
“Our recommended classified vote is just that: a recommendation,” Hayward said.
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“We can’t support it”: anti-abortion group accuses Pierre Poilievre of being “pro-abortion”
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Pierre Poilievre “could be vulnerable,” says poll, as support softens for leader
Jack Fonseca, CLC’s director of political operations, told the National Post that his group will soon publish its voter guide for the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership career, but could already confirm that they will certainly not recommend that Poilievre be second.
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“If the social conservatives give Poilievre a second place, the message he sends to Poilievre and all the other politicians in the establishment is that they can take us for granted,” Fonseca said.
“This is precisely the wrong message to send”.
Social Conservatives are much more cautious when it comes to supporting a candidate, having done so with former leader Erin O’Toole, who left them out. They now demand that candidates make a clear commitment to stand up for their problems if they are elected leaders.
In the transcripts of their interviews with RightNow, most candidates pledged to allow members of Parliament to present their own MP bills, as is the case, but not all candidates pledged to leave. that parliamentarians vote freely on matters of conscience.
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Poilievre, Brown and Charest, in a rare moment of agreement, reiterated that their government would never introduce or pass a law banning abortion.
Lewis and Baber were fully committed to voting freely on matters of conscience, even in the Cabinet.
“I will always support caucus freedom and freedom of conscience. This would include members of my cabinet. Every politician should be able to vote for his conscience regardless of his political position,” Lewis said in a transcript of his interview.
For some pro-life conservatives, Leslyn Lewis is the only option for the party leader. Photo by Greg Southam / Postmedia / File
Baber relied on his own experience in the Doug Ford government to commit to free voting. “I have been made to vote against my conscience several times throughout my career, and I will never subject anyone to that. I will allow free votes in all matters of conscience, “he said.
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CLC said they are still in the process of evaluating Baber, who, in his view, has offered more “significant political commitments” than Poilievre.
Poilievre has a mixed history when it comes to conservative social issues. He has consistently voted against assisted death bills, but has voted against MP Cathay Wagantall’s bill that would have banned sex-selective abortion in 2021.
With the possibility of the Supreme Court revoking abortion rights in the United States, the alleged favorite was pressured by his opponents, especially Lewis, to express his personal position on the issue. So far he had said he would not reopen the debate.
It was not until the French debate, held last week in Quebec, that Poilievre ended up admitting that it was in fact “pro-election”.
Hayward said there were many social conservatives who were excited about Poilievre at the start of the race in February, but many have been “turned off” by him over the past few weeks because of his position on abortion. during the debates.
“I think the bubble burst, so to speak, for a lot of people who are pro-life.”
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