OTTAWA – One of Canada’s largest anti-abortion organizations is attacking the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership rules as a way of “silencing the pro-life community.”
The Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) is backing four social conservatives in the leadership race and is telling its members that it is more important than ever to get involved in the campaign.
“We’ve been lied to by politicians who wanted our votes to win – and then had the door slammed in our faces after getting them elected – before,” wrote CLC national president Jeff Gunnarson in a letter to supporters sent in recent weeks and obtained by the National Post. His organization is a lobby group that actively opposes abortion and gay marriage.
In an interview, Gunnarson said his critique wasn’t specifically aimed at current Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, but he is certainly included in that group. During the election campaign last fall, Scheer said he was pro-life but vowed to not re-open the abortion debate if he was elected prime minister.
“He turned his back on the movement, but that doesn’t matter anymore, he’s yesterday’s leader”, Gunnarson said.
In his letter, the CLC national president claims the CPC leadership race rules is full of “roadblocks and red tape” that are designed to “keep grassroots social conservatives from even entering the race, let alone winning.”
Gunnarson’s concerns are the rules that require potential leadership candidates to gather $300,000 and 3,000 signatures from at least 30 different ridings across a minimum of seven provinces or territories simply in order to appear on the Conservative’s leadership ballot in June.
“Typically, a pro-life candidate is coming from outside, so they don’t have the typical ‘jump into the fray’ type of support that the established candidates do. But pro-life members are anxious to help right now,” explained Gunnarson.
His organization is encouraging members to support four potential candidates: Quebecer Richard Décarie and Ontarians Leslyn Lewis, Derek Sloan and Jim Karahalios. So far, three of them — Lewis, Sloan and Karahalios — have made the first step to officially enter the race, which required a $25,000 fee and 1,000 signatures. But paying the $300,000 by March 25 to stay in the race poses a much tougher challenger.
The number of candidates who are able to enter the race is a crucial element due to the ranked ballot system. In each round of voting, the last-place candidate drops off and their votes are transferred to the next-highest choice on the voter’s ballot. If the frontrunners are close, the down-ballot support from the socially-conservative candidates could be decisive.
Scheer turned his back on the movement
The coalition’s missive also gives a glimpse into how the anti-abortion movement organizes support for their preferred candidates. Alongside the letter is a series of ready-to-use documents, including a Conservative party membership form and official nomination petitions for all four socially-conservative candidates.
All the coalition’s members have to do is sign the papers and send them back to the organization’s headquarters. “Our team will take care of the rest”, the letter explains.
The goal: “Stop the political establishment from silencing the pro-life community and ensure social conservatives and value voters are represented in the upcoming Conservative leadership election,” he writes.
In the last few years, social conservatives have held significant sway in Conservative leadership races.
In 2017, pro-life Conservative MP Brad Trost finished fourth of 13 in the race that led to Scheer’s coronation. In 2018, now-Ontario PC leader Doug Ford’s leadership campaign received a significant boost when Tanya Granic Allen dropped out of the race.
The Conservative Party of Canada did not respond to requests for comment.
— With files from Brian Platt
