Conservative membership by the numbers

graph.jpgThe numbers are out today and all of our efforts have not been in vain. The membership of the Conservative Party of Canada has gone from 142,000 on December 7th 2003 to 251,759 today (March 1st). This means that 109,759 new memberships have been purchased by Canadians. Detractors of the Conservative Party have said that the whole would be less than sum of the parts. Today, these numbers show that this is completely untrue. The unified Conservative Party membership is actually greater than the sum of the memberships of the two formative parties (the PC and the Alliance).

I’m glad to see that our efforts have paid off to grow this national party which now stands as a viable alternative to the ruling Liberal Party. Of course, we’re not done yet; memberships are still for sale!

Media Day

What a day! Final memberships to vote for leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada and to vote for my nomination are due tonight at midnight. As I’ve been working selling memberships for my nomination, I had the opportunity to speak with both the Kingston Whig Standard and to Rex Murphy on Cross Country Checkup on CBC Radio One.

The Whig reporter called today to find out a little bit more about who I am and why I’m running. I mentioned that the new Conservative Party represents a chance for previously sidelined conservatives to be heard and that the formation of the party represents “a real opportunity for democratic change in this country”.

On Rex’s call-in show, Rex introduced me to the country and again to Stephen Harper. Subsequently, I asked him the following question, “Hi Mr. Harper, I’m seeking the Conservative nomination here in Kingston and the Islands. I’m 23 years old and when we had the opportunity to meet and discuss the issues we didn’t have the chance to discuss youth issues. Now, I think that this new party can be the party of youth in this country and I’ve been working hard to realize this goal. I’d like to ask you what your commitment is for the sustainment of a youth wing of the party and whether you’ll be seeking youth input if you’re the leader.” Now, I know what I said, but I can’t begin to present Mr. Harper’s response without a transcript, so I’ll present the exchange when it becomes available from CBC.

Update:I can do one better than a transcript. Here’s the audio of the interview with Stephen Harper. I’m on the air at around the 44 minute mark.

Click here to listen to the audio

Busy day…

Scott Brison is now a confirmed Liberal

brison.jpgFormer Conservative Scott Brison won his nomination today for the Liberal Party of Canada meaning that he will represent the Liberal Party on the next federal ballot for the riding of King Hants. We’ll see how he’ll fare in the upcoming election since he jumped ship to a party now deluged in the sponsorship scandal. Speaking of the sponsorship scandal, one of Auditor-General Sheila Fraser’s complaints was the Liberal government’s questionable purchase of two new Bombardier jets worth $100 million. These flying limosines, for the cabinet, were purchased while our military is sorely underfunded. Here’s what Scott Brison said about this when he was a Conservative:

“Why does the government not pull the flying carpet out from under the Prime Minister, cancel the $100 million order for the flying Taj Mahals and buy new helicopters for our troops, or has the little guy from Shawinigan become the sultan of Shawinigan?

“The Minister of National Defence says that the new luxury jets are an upgrade to make sure that the government is better able to do its job when it is required to travel. The only thing the cabinet does fast is fly.

“Why is the minister not more concerned about providing his troops with the equipment they need to do their jobs than he is about providing the Prime Minister with a Canadian version of Air Force One to feed his imperial-sized ego?

Source: Hansard

Food for thought for the voters of King Hants