New Leader, CPC unity, fight inflation

By Martin Shields Member of Parliament Bow River Riding

After a grueling six-month campaign, the Conservative leadership race has finally come to an end – with results that hardly anyone could pretend to be surprised about. Pierre Poilievre has been elected leader with over 68 per cent on a first-ballot victory. As decisive a victory you may ever get in a political election, this sends a clear message that Pierre’s vision has resonated not only with Conservatives, but with Canadians in general. People outside the Party started to pay attention. 

Sitting at over 678,000 members, the Conservative Party of Canada is now by far the largest political party in the Canada’s history. The growth is thanks in large part to the over 300,000 new members signed up by the Poilievre campaign alone. 

Canadians are growing tired of seeing their bank accounts stagnate or lose value. The Financial Post reports that Canadian household wealth has fallen “by nearly $1 trillion as real estate, financial markets pummeled.”

People are tired of rising prices for groceries and fuel. Household staples like eggs and milk are up 9 per cent, meats are up nearly 7 per cent, while this summer fuel peaked at over $2 a litre. Canadians are tired of working with no prospect of saving, tired of not being able to ever dream of affording a home. 

Canadians young and old are facing a cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by the government’s nonstop spending – more than doubling our national debt, spending half a trillion dollars and more than any other federal government combined in history. This government’s spending has made life unaffordable. 

But Conservatives are ready to fight and give Canadians hope again. Hope that their jobs will be fruitful, that inflation won’t strip away their hours of hard work. Hope that a home will not be a pipe dream but a reality. With renewed leadership and the largest membership base in the country, Conservatives are more united than ever – we are determined to finally put a stop to this government’s reckless spending and defeat the Liberals. 

Conservatives will do everything in our power to stop the government from increasing or introducing any new taxes – like stopping the increase to payroll taxes come Jan. 1. We will fight for our energy and agriculture sectors by eliminating the carbon tax. Our neighbours to the south do not have a carbon tax and it is making the Canadian energy and agriculture market uncompetitive. We will encourage new energy projects by scrapping Bill C-48 (West Coast tanker ban) and C-69 (Regulatory red-tape). 

We will always stand behind our farmers who feed the world, not punish them with fertilizer emissions reductions. We will encourage free speech, not stifle it – by repealing Bill C-11 should it pass. We will make Canadians proud to fly their flag, sing their anthem and be Canadian once again.

The fall parliamentary session is just beginning – we’re ready to get to work.

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Should you have a question or concern of a federal matter, please email my office (Martin.Shields@parl.gc.ca).