All things considered 2010 was a pretty good year for Canada’s conservative movement.
True, by American standards, conservatives here are still pretty quiet – we don’t yet, for instance, have the equivalent of a boat-rocking, Tea Party-style political operation – but in the past year we had our victories and more importantly we saw new voices emerging.
Here’s a quick rundown of conservative highlights in 2010:
Maxime Bernier
In January 2010, former Conservative Cabinet minister, Maxime Bernier declared, “If we want conservative principles to win the battle, we have to defend them openly, with passion and with conviction.” Then for the rest of the year he lived up to those words, travelling across the country promoting the ideas of smaller government and individual freedom. In the process he gave Canadian conservatives something they have not had for a long time: a politician we could actually cheer about for something other than his singing prowess.
Rob Ford’s Victory
Conventional wisdom confidently states the Greater Toronto Area is a death zone for conservatism. In fact, we were told the only way for a conservative to win in Toronto is to disregard principles and start talking like Karl Marx. But then Rob Ford came along and disregarded the conventional wisdom. He talked about reducing waste, reining in public sector union bosses and lowering taxes. And he won! Perhaps this will act a blueprint for other conservatives seeking Toronto votes. (Yes, I am looking at you Stephen Harper and Tim Hudak) As a side bonus, the Ford victory even resurrected the “left wing pinko”phrase, courtesy of Don Cherry.
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