Sloan says MP Martin Shields Complained he Encouraged Political Participation

In Derek Sloan’s Facebook Live video yesterday soon after he was removed from the Conservative Party caucus he promised that over the coming days he would name names on who he knew supported his removal in the caucus meeting.

Sloan made good on his promise naming the first person, Martin Shields MP for Bow River who Sloan revealed to be against him in large part for insider political reasons and not any of the media created controversies others had cited.

Shields apparently took issue with the fact that Sloan had been encouraging his leadership campaign’s supporters who were on his email list to sign up as delegates to the 2021 CPC convention, causing some in Shields’ riding to apply to be delegates.

Sloan paraphrasing Shields said: 

Now Derek…I had all my ten delegates ready to go, and all of a sudden I’m getting all these delegates that want to go to convention and I don’t even know who they are…and how dare you interfere in my riding’s circumstances.

Sloan then went on to voice his clear disdain for the attitude towards political participation that Shields and the CPC establishment hold.

Sloan stated that: 

Well I’m sorry if I am expanding the [Conservative Party] base, if I am encouraging people like you to get involved and go to convention. Like what arrogance! These people think they are petty princes ruling these little fiefdoms and that no one else can have a say. Listen, if you are a candidate in your riding you are not the king of your riding, you were elected to serve your membership. 

If you want to encourage people to become delegates that’s great, but it’s not up to you to decide who goes, it’s up to the other members in your riding, and if I encouraged X number of people to be involved in ridings around the country I’m proud of that. If I am expanding the base, if I am encouraging people to get involved in convention, that’s a good thing! And yet these people are clamping down on me for increasing participation, because they don’t want you involved, they want you to think you are involved, but they want you to have little say at convention. They wanted to have a quiet little convention that nobody knew about, where nothing consequential got passed, so they can go into the election being the Liberal-lite party that Erin O’Toole wants to be, without any repercussion from the base.

When I start  saying ‘hey, let’s get some true blue conservatives to come to convention’ all of a sudden I get axed. 

Sloan went on to further explain how he sees many of the current CPC MPs as having become arrogant and have been in politics too long, not wanting to let in anyone who is truly passionate about conservative principles. 

In the live video Sloan once again encouraged supporters not to cancel their delegate positions and that he is still working to push conservative policies and try to elect solidly conservative candidates to the Conservative national council.

Sloan taking aim at Shields does in part damage the perception that his removal had anything to do with Paul Fromm and instead of being more about Erin O’Toole and other establishment MPs being uncomfortable with outspoken conservatives inside the Conservative Party. 

More names of CPC MPs are expected to be named by Sloan over the coming days.

Derek Sloan’s Facebook Live video is linked here.