Erin O’Toole has Shifted Left and Away from Western Canadians

Many who watched the recent Conservative Party convention found themselves in disbelief. I am not an exception to this. I watched as Erin O’Toole firmly laid the foundation for policies few in the West support. Chiefly among them, a further alienated Western Canada.

Observing Mr. O’Toole’s frequent efforts to try and out Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is very upsetting I am sure for Conservative voters. I’ve little doubt that Prime Minister Trudeau was at home -meaning the cottage- watching with glee. You see, it’s obvious to all except Erin O’Toole. The CPC cannot win a race to the left. Prime Minister Trudeau knows this, Conservative voters know this. It seems everyone is aware of this, except Erin O’Toole and his inner circle. 

I know many have been watching and waiting for some sign of the plan that O’Toole frequently speaks of regarding climate change. I will take an educated guess on what the plan will be. The CPC will stay in the middle of the road on it, hoping they can use it to win votes in central and eastern Canada, while pretending they are somehow significantly different than the Liberals.

Western voters ultimately will not know where the CPC stands on the issue. Beware buyer’s remorse is an apt statement. Look no further than the Conservative party’s recent turns to the left on many issues for an accurate prediction of what the plan would be, should they form the government.

I believe Erin O’Toole has every intention of a national carbon tax, even during our current economic state. Given the state of the economy, now is certainly not the time to discuss further taxation in Canada. That statement applies to any proposed tax, especially a carbon tax.

O’Toole ran on this carbon tax policy during the 2020 CPC leadership race while pretending “carbon-pricing” was somehow different from the carbon tax, and that was when the economy was already hurting bad, so clearly the economic wellbeing of the country is not a big concern for him when pushing his policies.

Any form of a carbon tax will be seen in the West as a continuance of the East treating the West as the national cash cow. Many Western Canadian families, companies, and workers are in states of financial stress right now. Instead of looking for another way to tax us, the correct decision would be to reduce the tax burden.

I am not saying we shouldn’t put real measurable consistent effort into improving our environment, we should, and we must. We need to fund/promote innovation in environmental stewardship but not at the cost of our industries that feed families and create jobs. When we look at the situation objectively and not ideologically the solutions become apparent.

The CPC and Erin O’Toole have no plan for this. They have quickly shifted to the left, in an effort to win Central and Eastern Canadian votes. In the process of this shift, a wide lane has been opened for a responsible non ideologically driven Western-based party. It is called the Maverick Party, and we are here to win the West.