On Parliament Hill

Last weekend on Saturday, I joined thousands of Conservatives in Toronto at the Conservative Leadership Convention. It was like no other political event I have experienced since first being elected to Parliament in 2013. The Convention centre was buzzing all afternoon in the lead-up to the announcement of the results, and the tension only increased as the day went on.

As each round unfolded, successive candidates were dropped from the ballot, with fifteen minute breaks between the broadcast of each result – a break that many times felt more like an hour. In the end, after 13 rounds, it all came down to the final ballot between the last two candidates still standing, Maxime Bernier and Andrew Scheer.

As we waited for the result of the final ballot, the tension in the room was immense and could be seen etched on the faces of the two remaining candidates. Then, after tabulating over 141,000 votes from party members, (the most ever in Canadian history) the results were finally in. “The next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, with 51% of the vote is… ANDREW SCHEER!”

The convention centre erupted with cheers for the new leader. As Andrew Scheer made his way to the podium to give his victory speech, Maxime Bernier quickly congratulated him with a handshake and a pat on the back.

As he began his speech, many Canadians perhaps were left wondering “who exactly is Andrew Scheer?”

While he is only 38 years old, Andrew Scheer has already had an exceptionally successful political career.

When he first sought federal political office in 2004 at the young age of 25, he defeated popular New Democrat Lorne Nystrom, who at the time was the longest-serving MP in the country.

In 2011, at only 32, he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons – the youngest person ever to hold that prestigious position.

A quick glance at some of his policies helps to understand who Andrew Scheer is and what he stands for. During the campaign he promised to focus on free speech, prioritizing real refugees, standing with Ukraine, Poland, and other Eastern European allies, support for Israel, greater accountability for First Nations, ending corporate welfare, freer trade, improving health care, standing up for religious freedom, a cleaner environment and respect for parents.

His acceptance speech Saturday also gave Canadians a greater understanding of his motivations for seeking the leadership of the party. During the speech he stated that under his leadership the Conservative Party “will always be looking for new ways to make life more affordable, by cutting your taxes and making it easier for the private sector to create jobs”. He said that “Conservatives have and always will be the party of prosperity, not envy” and that “we will be the party that always represents taxpayers, not connected Ottawa insiders.”

He received a loud applause when he stated that the Liberal carbon tax is”nothing more than a tax grab” – which he then promised to repeal.

But perhaps the largest applause of the evening was reserved for the following statement, “One of the things that has motivated me so much in this campaign is the very strong belief that I cannot allow Justin Trudeau to do the same thing to my five children that his father did to my generation.”

I was proud to be an early supporter of Andrew when he first announced his leadership bid last September. Since then he has earned the respect and admiration of our caucus, supporters, and Canadians from across the country.

This marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the Conservative party and I am looking forward to working closely with our new leader.

With Andrew Scheer at the helm, we come out of this leadership campaign excited, united and ready to defeat Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in 2019.