Three different Conservative Party Leaders. Three different approaches to the Covid pandemic and to the trucker convoy. Differing results.
Jason Kenney, on the left is the Premier of very blue conservative Alberta. The United Conservative Party (UCP), that he leads, is the amalgamation of the Conservative Party and the, much more to the right, Wildrose Party. Regarding Covid, Kenney was very late in the game bringing in mandates and closing down businesses. He resisted mainly because he did not want to alienate the far right element in his party. He eventually had to impose mandates and close down businesses. Covid case rates and death rates, per capita, spiralled, putting Alberta’s health care systenm in crisis. He tried to appease both the extreme and the moderate elements of his parties, while alienating Albertans supporting different parties. Regarding the trucker convoy, he gave it moderate support, again doing a dance, trying to appease both elements of his party. The end result? There was a leadership review. Kenney barely managed to get more than 50% support. He announced that he will resign as leader of his party. A leadership convention will be held to replace him. The leading contenders have Wildrose Party backgrounds, signalling a shift further right. That being said, the New Democrat Party (NDP), further left than the Liberal Party, has a chance to form the next government.
Erin O’Toole, on the right, was the leader of the federal Conservative Party. He too, attempted to do a happy dance between his more moderate elements and the extreme elements. As a result, he appeared wishy washy on both the Covid issue and the trucker convoy issue. His party ended up losing the recent federal election to Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party. He resigned as leader. The Conservative Party will hold a leadership convention in September. Similar to the UCP, in Alberta, the leading contender, Pierre Poilievre, is much further to the right. He is both anti mandate/anti restrictions and pro trucker convoy.
Doug Ford, the middle picture, is leader of the Conservative Party, in Ontario, and also the Premier. Ford was all in, with regard to mandates and closures of businesses. He came across as being sympathetic to a majority of Ontarions. He actually came across as someone who felt everybody’s pain. With regard to the trucker convoy, Ford was a hardliner against the convoy. He supported the Federal Liberal Party’s implementation of the Emergency Act. In the last federal election, the Federal Liberal Party won the majority of seats, in Ontario. Ontario just had their provincial election. The provincial Conservative Party won an overwhelming majority of seats. If the Covid pandemic had never happened, Ford would most likely have lost. Different approaches of the three Conservative leaderts and different results.