OTTAWA-
Roman Baber is asking members of the Conservative party to give him a second look – not just consider him their second choice.
The former Ontario lawmaker – best known before the race for being removed from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s caucus for opposing COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2021 – released a document on Wednesday of policy highlighting the promises he has made around themes such as democracy and natural resources.
Baber, who has expanded his fight against COVID-19 health measures to vaccination mandates, points to promises such as the cancellation of agricultural supply management and federal equalization payments to provinces as “material differences.” between him and the two candidates on whom he could end up. voting.
One being Pierre Poilievre, the party’s longtime MP for the Ottawa area and contest favorite, whose campaign has centered around the word freedom.
Another is Leslyn Lewis, a Social Conservative MP from Ontario, who also spoke out against COVID-19 health measures and in support of last winter’s convoy protests after placing third in the race. to the leadership of the party in 2020.
“A lot of Conservative MPs appreciate that I took a principled stand on behalf of Canadians over the past two years when it was unpopular,” Baber said in a recent interview.
“But they’re not ready to mark me as their number 1 yet.”
He is now embarking on what he calls an “education campaign” with party members on how the ranked ballot system works, telling them they don’t have to worry about splitting the vote.
“If you mark me (second) after a more popular candidate, then I will not get your (second) vote. That is (because) I will probably fall on the ballot before a more popular candidate,” he said. he tweeted on Tuesday.
He then asked them to “change” and choose him first.
As for his political future, Baber said he will make up his mind once the race is over.
“We focus on a solid finish.”
His efforts to cajole members in his backyard come as voting is already underway and other candidates are looking to do the same.
With the party having sent most of the more than 670,000 ballots to members, it began the process this week to ensure those returned are valid – by checking, for example, that members have sent in a copy of their driver’s license.
The results will be announced in Ottawa on September 10.
New Canadians are among the potential supporters some candidates have reached out to, a segment of the population Conservative insiders believe the party needs to do more to attract after the contest.
Questions loom over what will happen to the thousands of new party members Patrick Brown claimed signed up before he was disqualified from the race. He led a campaign focused on seeking out Tories from racialized and immigrant communities, saying after his ousting that he believed former Quebec premier Jean Charest was in the best position to defeat Poilievre.
Lewis also appealed to Brown’s supporters.
A black immigrant from Jamaica, she recently emailed party members protesting what she described as the categorization of people under the label of so-called ethnic voting.
She said it’s a problem when people, including those inside the party, see voters as belonging to one bloc.
“Patrick Brown couldn’t deliver the ‘ethnic vote’. He was free, like all of us leadership candidates, to appeal to whatever conservative values they have. But they weren’t his,” she writes.
“Can I offer the so-called ethnic vote to our party in the next election? I’ve done it before and I can do it again. But not because I tick a box. Because I treat people like everybody.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 20, 2022
“Internet evangelist. Extreme communicator. Subtly charming alcohol aficionado. Typical tv geek.”