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Premier Tim Houston said this week that Conservative political ideology provides a big tent in Canada. That tent may not be big enough to house both Houston, the Progressive Conservative premier of Nova Scotia, and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who again led the federal party to an official Opposition standing behind the Liberals in Monday’s federal election . Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience. Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.
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“It can be a big tent and it can be an effective big tent,” Houston said of the Conservative ideology. “After four consecutive losses to the Liberal party, I think it’s time for (the federal party) to do some soul-searching and I hope that they do.” Houston seemed to hint that the soul-searching could begin with considering a new leader. “I didn’t really get that involved in the federal election but I think what we’ve learned is there are always lessons to be learned,” Houston said. “I think there are some lessons learned from this campaign. I think the Conservative Party of Canada was very good at pushing people away, not so good at pulling people in, and I think they saw that in some of the results they had across the country.” Houston downplayed a perceived rift between himself and Poilievre and stopped short of saying the federal party needs a new person at the helm. “That will be for them to decide,” he said. “The Conservative Party of Canada, their membership will decide that. I’m just excited to work with the new government and anyone who wants to help advance the interests of Nova Scotia.” Poilievre, who lost his seat in the election but vowed to stay on as leader, made a campaign stop in Nova Scotia for a rally in Trenton during the waning days of the campaign but Houston did not attend. “I didn’t have a relationship with (Poilievre),” Houston said, adding that he wouldn’t refer to it as a rift. The Conservatives’ struggles in Nova Scotia continued Monday as the party won only one of 11 seats while watching the Liberals claim victory in the other 10. Chris d’Entremont, a former Progressive Conservative MLA who was re-elected Monday in the federal riding of Acadie-Annapolis, told a current affairs radio program this week that the Nova Scotia PC party and federal Conservatives should work more closely together and that the Conservative candidates in the province could have used the premier’s help. “I’m a collaborative person, I work with people that I can work with all the time,” Houston said. “I don’t differentiate between political parties, I work with Nova Scotians every single day. “The federal election I stayed clear of. I wrote letters to both the (Liberal and Conservative) leaders on issues that matter to Nova Scotians,” Houston said. He said he hopes the federal party does “some soul-searching on what they believe it means to be a Conservative. “ “There are many, many shades of blue. People will see that in the way I govern and I think they will see that in our party members, we work with Nova Scotians, we work with anyone.” Houston said it was coincidental that his “I Am Nova Scotian” video celebrating the province’s history, culture and achievements was released at the same time Poilievre was making his late campaign stop in Nova Scotia. The premier said the video should not be construed as his application for the federal Conservative job. “I’ve always been clear, I have the best job in the world,” Houston said. “This is a great province, tons of potential.” So what was the intent of the video? “The video is incredible, over two million views right now and it has evoked a lot of emotions in Nova Scotians and certainly people who have a connection to Nova Scotia in some way, shape or form, people who have relatives here,” Houston said. He said the video was intended to promote Nova Scotia, “to evoke the emotions in Nova Scotians, the pride in Nova Scotians, the pride in country.” “This is a time for all of us to be proud of where we come from and we have a lot to be proud of with Nova Scotia,” he said. “People sometimes forget, day-to-day life and lots of stresses and things. This was just a moment for people to sit back for two-and-a-half minutes and say, ‘Yeah, I know that, I’ve seen that.’ That’s a good thing.” Any criticism that may have been levelled at Houston for not being a Conservative team player in the federal election campaign paled in comparison to the vitriol directed at Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative premier of Ontario. Conservative MP Jamil Jivani unleashed a televised tirade against Ford late on election night. “I have differences of opinion with him and I don’t like how he’s managed health care or education,” Jivani said after being declared victorious in the federal Bowmanville Oshawa North riding. “We didn’t say anything, (as) a federal party, we didn’t get in his way,” during Ford’s recent successful provincial election campaign, Jivani said. “When it was our turn for an election, he couldn’t stay out of our business, always getting his criticisms and all of his opinions out, distracting our campaign, trying to make it about him, trying to position himself as some kind of political genius that we need to be taking cues from. “I see Doug Ford as a problem for Ontario and for Canada. I think he’s not doing a great job in running this province and now he’s trying to exercise his influence over other levels of government and it’s not like this guy is doing anything particularly well.” Jivani said the federal Conservatives will not take advice from Ford, who he said has taken the provincial Progressive Conservative party and “turned it into something hollow, unprincipled, something that doesn’t solve problems, he’s glad-handing with Chrystia Freeland, having coffee and lattes with Mark Carney.” Houston campaigned with Ford in Ontario during Ford’s bid for re-election and the Ontario premier has embraced Houston’s legislation and plan to break down interprovincial trade barriers. “Our election campaign was pretty successful and I think Doug Ford’s re-election campaign was pretty successful, too,” Houston said. “For me, personally, for issues we face as a province or whatever the case may be, we don’t have to create the wheel. We can learn from others, we can work with others. I think there were opportunities for (federal Conservatives) to reach out and learn and to work with others. “They decided not to, that’s their choice.” Asked what the federal party could do to mend fences with the provincial PCs, Houston said, “Just reach out.” Do air purifiers work? Everything you need to know according to experts
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