Maybe now is the time for the Reform Party of Canada to make a comeback.
Actually, “comeback” is probably the wrong word, for in reality the Reform Party never really went away.
As we all know, it changed its name to the Canadian Alliance in 2000 and then a few years after that it merged with the Progressive Conservative Party.
But the Reform Party is still here in spirit, hidden away within the ranks of the Conservative Party of Canada.
And the Reform Party will always be here in spirit as along as one-time Reformers make up the core support base for the Conservative party.
In fact, without the support of one-time Reformers, who generously contribute money to the party and who loyally line up to vote each election, the Conservative Party would not have the success it enjoys today.
So you would think keeping these former Reformers happy would be an important goal for the Conservative Party brass, especially for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who himself was once a Reform MP.
But that’s not the case.
In fact, the sad reality is that Reformers are basically treated like second-class citizens within the party, at least when it comes to setting a policy agenda.
Just consider how many Reform ideals have been omitted from the Conservative Party’s platforms.
The Reform Party, for instance, stood for fiscal responsibility, but since taking hold of power the Conservative Party has spent government money at a rate that would put the Liberals to shame.
Nor does the Conservative Party embrace the old Reform idea of direct democracy; Conservatives never talk about referendums, plebiscites or recall.
But the greatest divergence between Reform ideals and Conservative Party practice centres on the question of how to deal with Quebec.
The Reform Party, believing all provinces should be treated equally, firmly rejected the notion that Quebec should be granted any sort of special recognition or preferential treatment.
The Conservative Party, on the other hand, has taken a different approach. It has made a strategic decision to woo Quebec’s nationalist voters.
In fact, short of wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey during Question Period, Prime Minister Stephen Harper did everything possible to pander to Quebec.
The most egregious example of this pandering occurred when Harper pushed a resolution through the House of Commons recognizing the "Quebecois" as a nation within Canada.
Later, Harper even went so far as to claim that he was a Quebec nationalist himself. "True nationalists don't want to destroy,” he once told a Quebec audience, “they want to build. We (the Conservatives) are the true nationalists."
And on top of all that the Conservative government poured billions of tax dollars into Quebec and eagerly made known its support for official bilingualism.
The whole point of the Conservative Party’s Quebec strategy, of course, was to win votes. The Party’s brain trust believed if they could out-nationalist the Bloc Quebecois they would win enough seats in Quebec to secure a majority government.
Unfortunately for the Conservatives it didn’t work.
In the last election, despite all the Quebec catering, the Conservative Party utterly failed to achieve any sort of electoral breakthrough in La Belle province. Not surprisingly, Quebec nationalists continued to support the Bloc.
This setback should be a stark message for the Conservative Party’s leadership.
Maybe it’s time for them to stop listening to the spin doctors and the pollsters and to start heeding the old-time Reformers.
Or better yet, maybe it’s time for old-time Reformers to start demanding their voices be heard within the party.
To be blunter, the Reformers should take back their party.
