During the last federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada did quite well considering its standing prior to the election. That being said, they will never seize power from the ruling Liberals unless they make significant inroads into Ontario. Although the party accomplished much it wasn’t enough to crack the Liberal juggernaut.

Generally speaking eastern Canada is dominated by the Liberals while western Canada is Conservative country. That is not to say there aren’t Conservatives out east and vice-versa. With that in mind, consider the fact that the majority of this nation’s population live in the east and it’s not hard to see why it’s imperative Stephen Harper’s party make inroads into vote-rich Ontario. But how do they do that?

Harper and his Conservatives are perceived by eastern Canadians to be intolerant religious rightwing fanatics. Of course this image is a false one but may as well be real as perception is reality. The challenge faced by the Conservatives is how to change this false perception.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the Conservative Party of Canada came into being as a result of the union between the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance formerly known as the Reform Party of Canada. The Reform Party was a group of disenfranchised rightwing individuals who broke away from the PC’s to form their own party. With Preston Manning ( here and here) at the helm, the Alberta-based party quickly gained steam and became a thorn in the side of the ruling Liberals. The problem was the Reformers had no credibility in the east. They were seen as a regional party at best and a group of hateful and racist individuals at worst. In an attempt to overhaul its image the Reformers morphed into a new entity called the Canadian Alliance. They were still plagued by a few rogue members however who continued to spew their vitriolic nonsense.

Recognizing that as long as the rightwing vote continued to be split between 2 conservative entities ensured the Liberals of their grip on power, they decided that the time for action had arrived and thus the Unite the Right movement ( here and here and here and here ) was born. Conservatives from both parties agreed it was time to bury the hatchet and tackle the common enemy. The 2 parties amalgamated to form the new Conservative Party of Canada.

That brings us to the present. For many eastern Canadians, the new party is seen simply as the same old car with a new paint job. They accuse the Canadian Alliance (read Reform Party) of assimilating the PCs. As far as many easterners are concerned, the new party is the Reform Party all over again.

Harper and his Conservatives have got to do a better job of getting their message out. Some have suggested the party should move closer to the middle of the political spectrum in order to attract more moderate Ontario voters. While this may work, they risk losing their grassroots support in the process. We’re not so sure watering down your ideology is such a good thing anyway. At the same time, we’re also convinced it’s not so much a matter of Harper diluting his ideology as it is Harper articulating what his ideology actually is.

The Conservative leader may actually have an unlikely ally in Ralph Klein. To many in the east, the Premier of Alberta is a radical rightwing nutjob, a dinosaur. He is on record as fiercely opposing same-sex marriage calling it “morally wrong.” This is an issue that is being hotly debated in this country with passions running very deeply on both sides. Harper appears to be distancing himself somewhat from Klein on this topic. This may turn out to be a very smart strategy. We’re not going so far as to imply the whole thing was orchestrated by Klein and Harper but it may very well have the effect of Harper appearing to be the moderate. If Stephen Harper plays this correctly, it will not be necessary for him and his party to dilute their ideology. Besides, Klein isn’t the only speaking out. Calgary MLA Gary Mar, a member of Ralph Klein’s PC Alberta government ( here and here ), also spoke out breaking ranks with the Premier saying,

“The debate over same-sex marriage is not one that is proper within circles of government. It’s a proper debate for institutions like the Catholic Church, the United Church, your synagogue . . . but it’s not a proper debate for governments to have.”

In a nutshell, while Mar does not oppose same-sex marriage he does oppose government interference. The question is how many more Conservatives think like Mar? While some may argue this threatens the Conservative Party we tend to think this is actually good. If Harper continues to distance himself from Klein, and in no way do we criticize the Alberta Premier for he is an exemplary politician whose province has done extremely well under his guidance, and if other so-called moderate Conservatives continue to speak out, this can only be a good thing. It may just be the thing the new Tories need to shed that negative image easterners have of them. It matters not what my own personal feeling on same-sex marriage is but the fact that Conservatives are now openly debating it is long overdue.

I know Harper’s party is not made up of a bunch of redneck racists. I also know it’s not necessary to water down the party platform to convince easterners of that either.