The Toronto Star reports, “The floodwaters that have soaked downtown Calgary have swamped plans for the Conservative Party’s first national convention in Stephen Harper’s adopted hometown. …The decision postpones the biennial convention, which was to be a policy meeting of rank-and-file party members and party officials, and a much-needed opportunity for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to rally his own troops’ morale with a speech that had been pegged as key to pressing the re-set button after a tumultuous spring sitting of parliament.”
New date?
“Conservative Party president John Walsh said the decision to postpone the convention became clear Saturday, although the party had initially said it would make the call on whether to proceed on Monday. …In an announcement Saturday afternoon, the party said it would re-schedule the event for an unspecified date down the road. …Walsh suggested the re-scheduled convention would also be held in Calgary, and said the party’s national council will set a new date.”
CBC adds, “The party’s national council will set out ‘immediately’ to reschedule the biennial convention, he said. ‘We will be in touch with a new date as soon as it is confirmed’, Walsh said.” And Postmedia News notes, “The party holds its convention every two years, and it’s not known how quickly it will be able to reschedule the event in Calgary.”
Missed moment for the Conservatives
The Postmedia News article also comments, “Thousands of Conservative delegates were scheduled to arrive in Calgary mid-week for the three-day convention that was to feature a keynote speech by Harper Thursday night. That speech, which the prime minister has been crafting for weeks, was designed to turn the page on months of bad news for the governing Tories.”
“Harper’s government is seen by critics to be drifting aimlessly mid-way through its mandate, with no clear objective and a failure to achieve successes, so far, in free-trade negotiations with Europe. Its ability to secure the export of Alberta oil — through the Northern Gateway pipeline to the B.C. coast and the Keystone XL project through the United States — is also uncertain. As well, Harper’s reputation for running an overly controlling government was further sealed when one of his own MPs, Brent Rathgeber, quit the Conservative caucus because he said the party had lost its way on some principles and policies, and junior officials in the prime minister’s office were telling elected backbench MPs how to do their jobs. Moreover, the Tories are enmeshed in a Senate spending scandal that has seen the departure of senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin from the Conservative caucus, the resignation of Harper’s former chief of staff Nigel Wright, and the launch of an RCMP criminal investigation into the Senate affair.”
“Harper was expected to hit the ‘refresh button’ on his government’s image with a major speech to the troops on Thursday, along with a cabinet shuffle in the coming weeks and a Throne Speech in the fall. The flood won’t stop Harper from proceeding with the cabinet shuffle, but it could be a long time before he gets another chance to use a single speech to reassure the Conservative faithful and draw public attention to his overlooked successes and future plans heading toward the 2015 election.”
Counter-forum
Common Causes has been organizing a ‘Pros & Cons’ counter-forum in Calgary for June 29. Given the postponement of the Conservative convention, the decision on this forum – which was to be held just up the street from where the Tories were to gather – will be made on Monday or sooner.
For more, please read:
NEWS: Harper to ‘rally his troops’ at Conservative convention in Calgary, June 27-29
VIEW: The Conservatives will try to rebrand, says Den Tandt
UPDATE: Common Causes hosts public forum to counter Conservative convention in Calgary