In a letter to CBC News ‘leadership campaigns, Manning, an elderly Conservative politician, said he feared such attacks would “deepen divisions within the Federal Conservative camp” – the split he said was the “Achilles’ heel”. of the party for a while. “
He said a particularly offensive campaign could bring Eastern Conservatives against their Western counterparts, “old PC-centric conservatives against reform-oriented conservatives”, “secular” conservatives against “religious conservatives and public economists” and public conservatives. preservatives.
Manning said the leadership race should instead focus on policy differences to prevent the party from splitting up and hand over to the Liberals and NDP executives the gift of planned offensive lines that can be used against anyone who wins the leadership. .
“As I’m sure you know, both the Liberals and the NDP have researchers whose only job is to record any derogatory statements made by a conservative leadership candidate against another or overly zealous supporters,” Manning said.
“Then, when the leader is finally elected, the Liberals / SW representatives will retaliate against this leader, especially in Parliament.” Let me read to the new CCP leader what some members of his own party really think about him. leader / her. ‘
“Stay away from personal attacks that only poison the party well and reinforce the public’s negative perception of the party’s policy.”
Manning led the Reform Party from the late 1980s to the 2000s, at a time when the conservative movement split into two rival parties – the Reform / Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. The split conservative vote helped the Liberal Party secure a large majority government in the 1990s.
To prevent a repeat of this kind of vote, Manning said he and “some other” senior “party members are willing to help” heal any divisions “that may arise as a result of this leadership contest.
Manning said it was important for the party to stay united so that the new leader could be in a good position “to defeat the Liberals / SW coalition in the next federal election” – a reference to the trust and offer agreement the two parties signed earlier. this year.
Manning said he would not support any candidate in this leadership race. He said he would send “useful ideas” to campaign managers throughout the competition to “promote the interests of the party and the country”.
Manning did not single out any candidate by name – but like almost all leadership campaigns, she has seen several personal campaigns.
For example,’s candidate for mayor of Brampton, Ont.
This prompted Poilievre to respond to the fire by calling Brown a liar who distorts the truth for political gain.
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre exchanges insults with his opponents. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
Leadership candidate and former Quebec prime minister Jean Chares has accused Puliere of seeking the approval of “lawbreakers” by backing truckers and others who took part in a Freedom Convoy rally in Ottawa.
“You can not be the leader of a party and the main legislator of the country, as prime minister, and support people who break the law. That excludes you,” Charest told Poilievre in an interview with CTV News earlier this month.
Poilievre’s camp, in turn, dismissed Charest as someone who is not a “real” Conservative, while mocking the smaller crowds that his campaign has attracted to his events.
