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Provincial Tory hopefuls look to broaden party's appeal

Four of the five people vying to be leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party kicked off their debates Monday by doing something their former leader refused to do in the last election: travel North to make their case.
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Provincial Progressive leadership hopefuls Vic Fedeli, left, Patrick Brown, Christine Elliott, and Lisa MacLeod squared off in a two-hour debate Monday at Collège Boréal. Photo by Darren MacDonald.
Four of the five people vying to be leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party kicked off their debates Monday by doing something their former leader refused to do in the last election: travel North to make their case.

And while Tim Hudak wasn't mentioned by name, his failures as leader were mentioned frequently, as was the need for the party to broaden its base and membership, which has dwindled to 10,000 in recent years.

Monte McNaughton was the lone no-show when Vic Fedeli, Christine Elliott, Patrick Brown and Lisa MacLeod squared off at Collège Boréal in a two-hour debate attended by about 100 supporters of candidates who were seated in sections according to whom they were backing. The debate itself focused on past failures of their party, failures of the governing Liberals and the need to broaden the party's support.

“I'm tired of losing,” Brown said at the outset, a reference to his party's string of election losses.

The federal MP from Barrie said the party needs to appeal to young people, and the place to start is engaging university and college students. In fact, he said he was scheduled to speak at the University of Ottawa the next day.

"It is worth our party's time to spend time on campuses," he said. “Our message will sell on campuses if we take the time to do it."

Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing, said students who want to support the Tories often feel isolated on campus because of their “left-wing” teachers. So he has a standing offer to any student in Ontario who wants to know how to counter their argument: send him an email or a text.

“I'll give you the talking points,” Fedeli said.

Elliott, who represents Whitby in the Ontario Legislature, said in the tradition of the “big blue machine” of former premiers Bill Davis and Mike Harris, she wants to create a “big blue tent” in which everyone is welcome.

“We need to build our party from the ground up.”

MacLeod, the MPP for Nepean-Carleton, said the Tories in Ontario need to show “the other side of Progressive Conservatives.”

For example, they should be willing to spend more on health care, but targeted spending in critical areas such as long-term care beds and home care, rather than the Liberal approach that drives up the deficit and makes social programs increasingly difficult to maintain.

"We need to make better connections -- with youth, with new Canadians. Our party has narrowed our base for far too long."

In response to a question about what they would do to bring an advanced cancer-screening tool to Sudbury – known as a PET scanner – Fedeli said scrapping the Local Health Integration Networks is a place to start.

For example, he said $1.2 million was wasted by the LHIN renovating its boardroom.

“I want you to think about that the next time you're thinking about PETscans.”

Brown said the long waiting list for long-term care beds in the province means hospitals in Sudbury and across the province are forced to put people in hospital beds. Not only is that a far more expensive way to care for them, it also clogs ERs and forces the cancellation of surgeries.

If the party supports it, he would fight for more beds in the 2018 election.

“It would save us money down the road.”

Other targets Monday included the Liberal's $1 billion gas plant scandal, problems at Ornge, eHealth and Hydro One. Fedeli said he got a bill for $1,000 because the utility didn't bill him for months; Elliott got one for $5,000 for similar reasons.

Brown said a mining industry executive told him the biggest obstacle to expansion is hydro costs, which are among the highest in North America.

“We have a massive problem in Ontario,” he said.

MacLeod said hydro's poor performance last winter when Toronto was without power for an extended period showed how big problems at the utility have gotten. She said talking with local utilities about taking over local hydro assets is worth considering, because they are often better run.

The deadline to enter the race – Doug Ford has mused publicly about joining – is Jan. 30. The party will pick its next leader at a convention in Toronto on May 9.

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Darren MacDonald

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