A candidate for the leadership of the federal Conservative Party made a stop in Weyburn, as MP Scott Aitchison was hosted by Souris-Moose Mountain Dr. Robert Kitchen for a day, meeting local residents and business leaders.
Aitchison is MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka, and prior to winning the 2019 election for his riding, was the mayor of Huntsville, Ont., a town of about 20,000 people.
In an interview, Aitchison noted he initially ran for MP as he was concerned over a number of issues, particularly on housing, and hoped he could make a difference in Ottawa.
Instead, he said, “it didn’t take me very long to get a little frustrated by how Ottawa operates, or doesn’t operate. Instead I found a number of people who seemed to be there for their own ego rather than for solving problems.”
Realizing that Canadians were also frustrated by the partisan rhetoric and the nastiness evident in Question Period and elsewhere, he decided he wanted to bring some leadership to the Conservative party.
“The biggest reason I got into the race is it’s my observation that a lot of people in Ottawa were in the race who don’t know a lot about leadership. I’m running for the job of being a team leader. I believe leadership is about engaging, empowering and inspiring the team around you to great things,” said Aitchison.
He noted he is seeing a lot of division and factions in the Conservative party right now, and suggested they aren’t going to form the next government unless they can be unified, and can win seats in places like Toronto and the Lower Mainland in B.C., as well as in rural areas as they are now.
“Uniting doesn’t mean uniformity. There’s no way we can all agree on everything,” he said, noting he and Dr. Kitchen have voted differently on a number of issues, but they are very good friends who get along regardless of their differences in opinion because of what they have in common as Conservatives.
“I think Canadians are ready for a positive Conservative message from a united team. If we can present that, we can finally get rid of Justin Trudeau,” he said.
On fiscal policies, he said the Liberals are “spending way too much money and borrowing way too much money and making life more expensive for Canadians. Inflation is not a unique Canadian situation. Largely speaking, our economy is firing on all cylinders, yet the Liberals are borrowing money to stimulate more spending, and all they’re doing is exacerbating the inflation problem. We need to get our fiscal house in order, and that means balancing the budget. The budget could be balanced today if the Liberal budget wasn’t so irresponsible, so I believe pretty strongly that Canadians are ready for responsible fiscal measures in Ottawa.”
On social issues, Aitchison said he’s fairly progressive socially, and notes Canada is a big country with many perspectives.
“It’s important for all of us to learn how to listen to each other. There’s lots of room for all sorts of perspectives in the Conservative movement,” he said.
Asked how he would unify the party if he were elected leader, he said he would make it a priority to make sure all voices in caucus are heard on any given issue.
“I think that’s been part of the problem in our party,” said Aitchison. “I think Canadians are ready for a leader that calls us together for a common purpose, instead of demonizing Westerners to win votes in Toronto, like the Liberals do. I think it’s time for people in Ontario to understand how diverse the economy is in Saskatchewan, or how innovative the oilpatch in Fort McMurray is. Oil companies have plans to be net neutral in their carbon emissions in 30 years. That’s incredible, and nobody seems to know about that in Toronto.”
He also wants to see the federal government stop meddling in the affairs of the provinces, but to concentrate on what the federal government is supposed to be doing. He pointed out that provinces don’t report to the federal government, but are equal partners in Confederation, and need to be left alone.
The candidate also pointed out the feds need to be actually doing more things, such as meeting goals for housing rather than seeing the situation get worse.
“They do photo ops for funding announcements, but you don’t see photo ops for ribbon-cuttings,” he said.
Aitchison said this was the first time he had ever been to Weyburn, and noted he’s enjoyed meeting Canadians all across the country.
