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MacKay warns against Alliance takeover
Friday, March 18, 2005 Updated at 2:18 PM EST
Canadian Press
Montreal — The deputy leader of the federal Conservatives says the newly merged party is in real jeopardy and is expressing second thoughts about helping to unite the right.
Peter MacKay sounded that urgent tone Friday after some delegates to the party's founding policy convention voted to overturn a key principle in the deal to merge the Tories and the Canadian Alliance.
The Conservative party was born last year after an agreement to give equal weight at conventions to all ridings across the country — no matter how many members the riding has.
Mr. MacKay said he and other Progressive Conservatives would never have agreed to merge with the Alliance without that guarantee and would have backed out of the process.
"There wouldn't have been a merger," Mr. MacKay said.
"There would not have been a merger."
The old PCs pushed for the deal because they were smaller in numbers than the Alliance and they feared being swamped by the Alliance's more conservative Western power base during future votes on its leadership and on policy issues. Mr. MacKay said his preferred system also reflects the electoral makeup of Canada, where each riding carries equal weight in the House of Commons.
But members at a policy workshop voted to overturn that idea Friday and give extra weight to ridings with more members. That prompted Mr. MacKay to blitz the hall in a furious attempt to defeat the motion when it comes up for a general vote on Saturday.
"This party is in real jeopardy in my view," Mr. MacKay said.
"For me, this was a deal-breaker."
A schism along the old PC-Alliance fault-line is a problem that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper cannot allow to widen. He and his advisers were counting on a quiet, well-organized convention to convey the message to Canadian voters that the new party is competent enough to run a government.
But one of those who spoke in favour of the motion to re-distribute the balance of grassroots power in the party was Ontario MP Scott Reid, who was Mr. Harper's emissary to the talks that united Canada's two right-wing parties. That led to suggestions that Mr. Harper might be supporting the move.
Mr. MacKay said he had not spoken to his leader about his concerns.
But Mr. Harper has apparently washed his hands of the dispute. An official from his office said he would not publicly state a position.
"Absolutely not," said spokesman Geoff Norquay.
"There will be a debate on the convention floor."
Most delegates said they felt the resolution would not become party policy. Under party rules, the resolution needs a double-majority — half the delegates and representatives from at least half the provinces — on Saturday.
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