Liberals are graciously recommending that Conservatives boot out Andrew Scheer although he received the most votes in the election and brought the Liberals down to minority status and then select a new leader more to their liking. Mind you, notwithstanding earnest protestations to the contrary, very few of them would vote Conservative even if their wishes were granted.

Conservatives received 6.2 million votes, the largest total for the party in its history, including the majority win in 2011. Their tally exceeded the Liberals by about 240,000 votes, or 34.4 per cent to 33 per cent. The Tories also increased their seat total by 22 from 99 to 121, while the Grits lost 27 seats to 157.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper counselled Conservatives to remain calm and not rush to judgment on their leader. Scheer will have time to make his case, as he has every right to do.

However, Scheer will also be judged by detractors upset that he did not beat Justin Trudeau, whose failed record includes gross personal misdeeds and illegalities, international embarrassment, broken promises, deficits without end, hostility to resource development, declining competitiveness, capital flight, rising Quebec nationalism and profound Western alienation. In any other country his fall from global rock star to narcissistic virtue-signalling imposter would have been politically terminal.

So some Conservatives are asking whether another leader could have done better. Would a different personal style have made a difference? Was Scheers social conservatism fatal in critical ridings in the GTA and Quebec, even though he was clear his personal religious beliefs would not influence public policy? Were his attacks on Trudeau mean-spirited or did he waste a golden opportunity to pummel a vulnerable adversary? On balance, was it a mistake to reject Doug Fords support? Did Scheer need to move to the squishy ideological middle? Or should he have been more robust in asserting conservative ideas because they are more effective?

Then theres climate change policy, which the mainstream media claim was a critical weakness, although the Greens increased their seat count only from two to three, the NDP lost 20 seats and the Blocs success was primarily due to its solitary support for Quebecs secularism legislation. Liberal policies will fall short of Canadas Paris climate targets that, in any case, are unachievable without economic devastation. Furthermore, even if the politically impossible happened, our impact on global temperature would be minuscule.

Konrad Yakabuski offered his advice to Conservatives in the Globe and Mail under the banner Whats right for Canadas right: Andrew Scheer must go as Conservative leader. In a departure from his usual thoughtful objectivity he referred to a Conservative movement that has become narrow-minded, anti-intellectual, vindictive and retrograde in the minds of too many voters. He dismissively claimed that Pockets of Ford Nation may still exist somewhere on this planet, raising the question of what planet he lives on.

Yakabuski also made a derogatory reference to former prime minister Harper, whom historians will accord high marks for leadership and achievement, light years ahead of the incumbent. Overall, his article reflects a phenomenon endemic to progressives: an aversion to politicians even moderately to the right of the red Tories.

Liberals insist that if Conservatives would just adopt policies and elect leaders they prefer, the Laurentian Elite would rush out to buy Conservative memberships. Call me a skeptic, but I would not hold my breath.

They remind me of Henry Higgins who, in My Fair Lady, asked that most male chauvinist of questions.

Why cant a woman be more like a man?Men are so honest, so thoroughly square;Eternally noble, historically fair.

Why cant a Conservative be more like a Liberal? Well, they can, but they dont want to be. They believe their approach to public policy produces superior results for most people, in both the shorter and longer term. Freedom, democracy and the rule of law are core Canadian values worth defending against those who would dismantle them in favour of moral relativism or worse.

A genuine embrace of diversity would extend not only to certain defined groups but also to ideas, while political correctness and identity politics, the prime ministers stock in trade, divide rather than unite. Reliance on government to solve virtually every problem is ineffective and intrudes on peoples lives. Fiscal responsibility enhances prosperity, unlike profligacy and instant gratification, which mortgage the future. History and tradition can provide invaluable wisdom, as we continually adapt to modernity.

Conservatives will determine the Conservative leadership, taking into account core values and political reality. They should not care a whit about advice from political opponents who should be thinking long and hard about their own leader after his rejection by two-thirds of the electorate. In case Liberals are interested in my advice, I say let Trudeau stay!

Joe Oliver was Canadas minister of finance in 2014-15.

See the rest here:
Joe Oliver: Liberals have a lot of nerve advising Conservatives to boot out Andrew Scheer - Financial Post