UCL Conservative Society

Federal by-elections in Canada were closely watched by both parties, as they were occurring in Liberal-held ridings and were a direct test of Stephane Dion’s leadership of the Liberal Party (or lack thereof). One of these ridings, the Lib safe seat of Toronto Centre which includes Church&Wellesley (Ontario’s largest gay district), Ontario’s largest council estate and Bay Street among other things was the target of three McGill Tories’ volunteering efforts.

The Conservative candidate, Don Meredith, was chosen in December as a replacement when his predecessor was ejected from the Tory caucus. With little time to spare, Don set up a campaign that pointed to him, religious minister and successful small businessman as well as community leader, as a valid alternative to Bob Rae, the NDP-turned-Liberal candidate. During his term as Ontario’s NDP (read: socialist) Premier Bob Rae managed to bring the province to the brink of bankruptcy, forcing public employees to take additional unpaid days off because the province’s budget was insufficient to pay all civil service wages.

With the looming danger of Rae challenging the feeble Dion for the Liberal leadership were he elected to the Commons, it was essential to underline how a solid supporter of Stephen Harper such as Don was the right choice against a potential disaster of a federal Prime Minister Rae.

Saturday’s canvassing was quite an experience, our team knocking on just short of 600 doors and witnessing reactions ranging from outright rejection (”forget it, no way I’m voting Conservative”) to interest, support or surprise at the news that were was indeed a by-election. Despite Tory chances being quite feeble in this riding, we put up a good fight. The seat remained Liberal, with the Tories getting low support compared to most other parties. Don, however, is a shining example of how to push for your ideas even in the face of adverse polls, a highly recognisable opponent, little time and an unsupportive riding. We wish him all the best in his future political endeavours and look forward to another chance to hit Toronto Tory-style.

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