Campaign signs for Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre remain the day after he lost his seat in the Carleton riding in Ottawa to Liberal Party candidate Bruce Fanjoy, on April 29.Amber Bracken/Reuters
Conservatives’ uncertainty
Re “The good and unnecessarily bad of Pierre Poilievre” (April 30): The article cites various issues affecting Mr. Poilievre’s ability to win the election.
Rather than focusing on electability, I would encourage the Conservatives to consider having the strongest potential prime minister as their leader.
This is what our country needs – strong prime ministers, not strong political leaders.
Leadership, character, experience – they all matter. Sadly, for this long-time Conservative voter, Mr. Poilievre does not have it.
It’s time for him to go.
Brad Vollmershausen Woodstock, Ont.
Re “Prominent Conservatives back Poilievre as leader after riding loss” (April 30): Using hockey as an analogy, yet again, the Conservatives won’t be hoisting the Stanley Cup or having a victory parade.
Leading by more than 20 points at the trade deadline, they faltered in the final stretch when its main opponent acquired a star player.
How could this happen? Rather than blaming the ticket-buying fans, the organization needs to look internally.
Pierre Poilievre and Jenni Byrne should be thanked for their contribution, and then shown the door.
In order to have more fan appeal, the Conservative Party needs to go back to the basics – its Progressive Conservative roots. Also needed is a statesman behind the bench.
With the opposition getting long in the tooth, there is only one thing standing between the Conservatives and a victory parade …themselves.
Tom Driedger Toronto
In the lead-up to the federal election, many reports suggested supporters of other parties, particularly the NDP, may be voting for the Liberal Party.
One significant political group was left out.
Before it was dissolved, the federal Progressive Conservative Party was a centre to centre-right party with former leaders such as John Diefenbaker, Robert Stanfield and Brian Mulroney.
Then came the Conservative Party with their right-wing views.
As a result, many Progressive Conservative believers found new parties for their votes.
Someone once asked Ronald Reagan why he left the Democratic Party. He replied: “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the party left me.”
Such is the situation with the Conservative Party. Change the name back to the Progressive Conservative Party, and bring back their centrist views and their commitment to serve all Canadians when they are elected.
Scott Van Alstine North Saanich, B.C.
Re “Pierre Poilievre was the right man for the moment. Then the moment changed – and he failed to adapt” (April 30): There seems to be many in the Conservative camp who are happy to have Mr. Poilievre stay on as leader.
This surprises me.
It is highly likely that the central reason the Conservatives did not win this election is that he was their leader.
It was a dislike of his style of politics that drove NDP votes to the Liberals.
Did he think cutting funding to the CBC was going to bring him new voters?
Throwing red meat to the base of your party is no way to appeal to a broad swath of voters, and it’s no way to make anxious Canadians feel that you will be able to unite them in these difficult times.
Sascha Maicher Ottawa
The Conservative Party lost the election because Pierre Poilievre lacks the skills and experience needed to negotiate with Donald Trump.
He lost his seat because voters rejected his style of politics and the notion that complex problems can be solved with simplistic slogans.
If the Conservatives choose someone who is capable of holding Mark Carney and the Liberal government to account, they’ll stand a much stronger chance of forming the next government.
Nicholas Dowd Mississauga
Vote for change
Re “Record turnout at advance polls created dramatic shifts in key ridings” (April 30): More than 19 million Canadians cast their ballots in the federal election.
Among that number, 7.3 million people voted on four days over the Easter long weekend in advance polls. More than 1.2 million voted via special ballot.
As more and more people vote in the advance polls and special ballot (mail or in Elections Canada offices), we are getting close to half of the ballots cast via those channels.
Elections Canada should arrange to have these votes counted a lot earlier, so that the results could be released once polls are closed. It is ridiculous that we were waiting all night for poll results to be released, usually way past bedtime.
Andrew Chong Toronto
Elections Canada acknowledged Canadians’ voting habits continue to evolve. It also reported that more than 68 per cent of eligible voters took part in the federal election.
Why not allow the voting system to evolve into a fair one with a higher turnout?
That’s what is happening in some European countries that use proportional representation to elect their members of parliament.
People realize their vote actually means something and are encouraged to participate.
Under the first-past-the-post system, people in heavily skewed ridings have little incentive to cast a ballot as they know it’s not going to count, even more so for minority party supporters.
People voted for change – that’s what the papers say. Let’s change the system and see the difference in voting habits.
Tony Burt Vancouver
Moving forward
Re “Liberals return to power with fourth consecutive mandate” (April 29): Political polarization is nipping away at our collective cohesion, and with a vote tally that was very nearly even between the Liberals and the Conservatives, this is Mark Carney’s chance to address the reasons behind stronger and broader voter support for Tories.
Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Carney needs to quickly undertake specific measures they are seeking. All Canadians need to know that their government hears them and responds to them.
In this way, we are more likely to see the destructive and divisive anger that characterizes polarization recede.
Matthew Pearce North West River, N.L.
Re “This election came down to ‘who do you trust?’” (Report on Business, April 29): The election’s question should not be who do you trust, but rather why isn’t there more trust.
Suspicion and distrust have been rampant in society and in politics for the past number of years and it is contagious. Our default position is to be skeptical of politicians.
Some readers may be prone to interpret my comments as saying that we should trust the politicians when that is not the case.
I am simply curious about how we, as a society, got to be so cynical and suspicious and how can we get around this hidden toxicity in our minds.
It is up to all of us: politicians and the people at large. Mark Carney may be a good person to start with. But most people will be skeptical about this.
Bruce Hutchison Ottawa
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