The Conservative Party has extended an invitation to Lord Daniel Hannan, one of the founders of Britain’s Vote Leave campaign, to deliver the keynote address at their upcoming convention in Québec City. Lord Daniel Hannan, a respected columnist and former politician who played a significant role in the Brexit debate, is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the Conservative policy convention, which will take place at the Centre des congrès de Québec next month. This event will bring together Conservative grassroots members for three days of policy discussions, networking, and rallies, marking their first gathering since Pierre Poilievre’s leadership victory last year.
Lord Hannan, an Oxford-educated British peer who goes by the title of The Lord Hannan of Kingsclere, a position bestowed upon him by former Prime Minister Boris Johnston, may seem like an unconventional choice to address the Canadian Conservative Party, given Poilievre’s emphasis on representing the “common people” and challenging the “elites” in Canadian politics.
Despite some policy differences, such as advocating for limited drug decriminalization and electoral reform, Lord Hannan’s prominent role at the policy convention aligns with the admiration that many Canadian Conservatives have for their British counterparts, particularly Johnson’s success in appealing to “blue-collar” voters who traditionally supported the Labour Party.
The fact that the convention will be the first since Andrew Scheer’s tenure as party leader and the possibility that it may be the last before the next general election, which is within the next two years, adds significance to the event. While the convention will provide a platform for policy debates and discussions, it is unlikely to significantly alter Poilievre’s eventual election platform, especially considering the Conservative Party’s current lead in national polling.
Insights gained from voting results obtained by Global News indicate that the top priority among the Conservative grassroots is reforming the bail system, referred to as a “catch-and-release” system in a proposal that echoes Poilievre’s recent rhetoric. Other prominent policy resolutions include streamlining firearms classifications based on technical criteria, re-establishing mandatory minimum sentences for firearm misuse, and protecting free speech in the public square, which aligns with Poilievre’s concerns about Liberal legislation in media and internet regulation.
Additionally, a policy resolution aiming to ban gender-affirming medical care for individuals under 18 received support from several electoral district associations (EDAs). However, this resolution may become contentious for Poilievre, following conservative-leaning governments in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan implementing policies restricting teachers from using students’ preferred pronouns without parental consent.
Two policies related to the 2022 convoy protests, which Poilievre supported as an MP and leadership contender, also feature among the proposed resolutions. One demands the revocation of the Emergencies Act, while another accuses the Liberal government of overreach in using the law to address protests in Windsor, Ontario.
The convention will consider nearly 60 policy resolutions, as indicated by publicly-accessible data on a Conservative website. Although the priority policy resolutions were not addressed by Sarah Fischer, the Conservative Party’s director of communications, the data provides insight into the Conservative grassroots’ priorities.
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