Author: Stephen Taylor

The Toronto Star has a report this morning about the Liberal strategy for the upcoming election. As I’ve said before, the Liberal strategy is going to be to play Paul Martin. According to the Liberals, the upcoming election is going to be about one thing: the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin. The Liberal Party of Canada will be aiming to capitalize on his apparent title: Right Honourable. The Conservative Party has been attempting to find evidence that Mr. Martin has indeed dipped his hand into the so-called honeypot. For the most part, the Tories have had different levels of success. No smoking gun yet, as they say.

So the Liberals are going to run their front man out-front where he stands 20 points ahead of his embattled party. Starting next week, the PM is to appear in a television ad campaign, to prepare the “down but not out” and “damaged but not busted” “Liberal machine” for the next election which is expected in May or June.

The timing of these advertisements indicate that the Liberals are set to charge right through their scandal before its settled in the minds of the Canadian electorate. The past two weeks of testimony have merely raised more questions than have been answered. Ralph Goodale’s budget even raised revelations of a previously secret $100 million Liberal slush-fund (or honeypot, as Conservative MPs are calling it).

A spring election? How could they!?

Therefore, the Liberal plan is to seek power instead of principle as they ask the Canadian public, not yet informed, for another mandate.

It was a hard fought race with three of us lending our name to our members to choose the next Conservative member from Kingston and the Islands. Blair MacLean, Ron Turley and I spoke to the Conservative membership on Monday night and answered questions as a panel of nomination contestants. In the end Mr. MacLean was elected as our candidate and I am encouraged that our party has choosen this very capable politician for the upcoming battle against the Liberals and their atrocious record of government irresponsibility. I do wish Mr. MacLean the best of luck and with our effort, the grassroots effort, we will have the next Honourable Member from Kingston and the Islands in Mr. Blair MacLean.

I’d like to thank all of you who came out in support and, indeed, I’d like to thank all members and all of the volunteers who made their way out to the Olympic Harbour on Monday to show that, as Conservatives, we are back; our party is the government in waiting.

Paul Martin will drop the writ any day now (incredibly premature in my opinion). For those of you who’d like to help our party defeat the Liberals in the next federal election please email Diane Duttle or myself. With our hard work, we will have Blair MacLean in Ottawa representing Kingston and the Islands.

I’d like to congratulate Mr. Blair MacLean for his victory on nomination night. I was very encouraged by the turnout to both the leadership vote and the nomination vote. As Conservatives, we’re back. We had some Liberal malcontents (now proud Conservatives) at the nomination as well! I’ll be posting more thoughts on tonight when I’m not so exhausted.

This was my speech on nomination night. Some of you who couldn’t attend have asked for a transcript of it. So here it is.

First of all, I’d like to thank Lou Grimshaw, our riding president for his kind words and I’d like to thank all of you for attending this evening. Our choice this evening is not one that is difficult; after all we will be choosing a conservative tonight.

Indeed, as Conservatives we choose professionals over patronage, values over vitriol, and constituents over corruption. I stand before you tonight, proud to be a Conservative.

My name is Stephen Taylor and I am seeking your vote tonight so that I may represent you on the next federal ballot. I have been a resident of Kingston for five years and my family has been shaped by this city over three generations. My grandfather came to Kingston as a student and then left as an officer who fought in the second world war for King and country. His commitment to Canada serves as a source of my inspiration as I too want to provide service to this country that I love. I have never experienced the tragedy of war and I am thankful for his service to Canada.

It was in that war, that Canada strengthened its alliance and its friendship with our two historical allies, the United States and Great Britain. It was after this war that Canada took a great role in lending its wisdom to the international community and it is now, after 11 years of wasteful and inappropriate Liberal governance that Canada has all but lost its face and its guidance among our greatest allies and friends. Kingston has had a proud military tradition and I want to fight to restore this pride.

As a biochemist from Queen’s University, I have had the opportunity to work and learn from a challenging field based on developing innovative ways to solve problems. My recent work has ranged from investigating the causes of drug resistance in the treatment of malaria to my work in developing gene therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer.

In the wake of the sordid corruption of the governing Liberals I have had the opportunity of speaking with John Williams, the Conservative Member of Parliament for St. Albert and the chair of the House of Commons Committee on public accounts. The same day that he grilled Alphonso Gagliano for his role in the Liberal Sponsorship Scandal, John and I had a conversation surrounding our mutual concern for government accountability and honesty. Upon informing him of my intentions to seek this nomination and to stand before you all tonight, the honorable Mr. Williams did say that “I could tell the good people of Kingston and the Islands that Kingston will finally have a Conservative voice in Stephen Taylor.” John informed me that I could call him anytime to arrange for his visit to Kingston to help me campaign on a platform of government responsibility. After all as I’m sure you’ll agree, as Conservatives we are responsible people.

John Williams is not the only prominent conservative to lend his endorsement. Jason Kenney, Conservative Member of Parliament for Calgary South-East has kindly endorsed my campaign to be your representative. Jim Flaherty, member of Ontario Parliament and former Ontario PC leadership candidate, has also given me his kind words. I also find the guidance of Rahim Jaffer, Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona, particularly heartening as he too ran as a young candidate and then became one of this country’s youngest MPs in history at age 25.

I am a younger candidate, yet I believe that this is an asset. My bid for nomination started six months ago after the formation of our new party and after a discussion with Peter MacKay. As a young candidate my nomination would bring national media attention upon Conservatives in Kingston and the Islands and upon our party as the NEW team, the NEW Conservatives and the NEW government.

As I’ve said many Conservatives have already joined my team.

I ask today that you join my team; I ask that you join OUR team.

We’re already calling it the “Blue Wave Campaign” and we will give Kingston the Conservatism it desires, we will give Ontario the Conservatism it wants and the Blue Wave will wash over all of Canada, sweeping out all of the sordid Grit with it. My name is Stephen Taylor, let’s get our campaign started right now!

Thank you