On Parliament Hill

Canada’s Conservatives face an important decision this fall: who will be the leader to take on Justin Trudeau and become the 24th Prime Minister of Canada.

Our party, like our country, is at a crossroads. In order to win the next election, we need a message and a messenger that can reach beyond the partisan divide and offer real solutions: the common-sense solutions Canadians want.

I believe the lack of common sense in our politics – and the lack of connection between what happens in Ottawa and the every-day lives of people – is why many Canadians are simply giving up on our democratic processes.

Canadians are tired.

Tired of being overtaxed and underserved by the governments they elect.

Tired of choosing between the lesser of two evils and seeing the potential for greatness sacrificed on the altars of political expediency, self-interest and political correctness.

Most of all, I think Canadians are weary of being told what to think and feel and believe. Tired of having their Charter rights to freedom of speech, thought, belief and expression infringed upon by government and special interest groups looking to impose an agenda.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was designed to protect individual Canadian citizens from just this sort of government overreach.

Our greatest strength as a nation is our freedom. That’s one of the reasons why I am a Conservative.

It was Churchill who said of Conservatism:

“At its core is the principle of limited government – not small, or large, but limited: government that remains confined to predictable boundaries, obeys certain rules, in all remains, our servant and not our master.”

I believe that it is only Canada’s Conservatives who can offer this kind of government – and even then, only if we reject the leftward drift of recent years and embrace the truly conservative principles of individual freedoms coupled with common sense and personal responsibility.

I believe in a vison of Canada where individuals have the freedom to succeed or fail on their own merit. To believe what they want and say what they think. To make decisions for their family, run their business and practice their faith free from government interference.

It was former Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who described this kind of Canada in the forward to the original Canadian Bill of Rights:

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.”

I believe that as Conservatives hold our leadership election this fall, the candidate who espouses these truly conservative principles will be our next leader and the next Prime Minister of Canada.