Ottawa, ON – From March 18 to 20 Conservatives across the country will gather virtually for the first time for a Party Policy Convention. Registration has smashed any previous convention record with over 5,500 Conservatives registered to attend. This record-breaking convention will be hosted by Dr. Leslyn Lewis, Conservative candidate in Haldimand-Norfolk, and Archy Beaudry, a well-known Quebec radio host and event MC. The over ten hours of scheduled policy and constitution debate and voting will be moderated by Kerry-Lynne Findlay, MP for South Surrey-White Rock, and Pierre Paul-Hus, MP for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
“With the Liberals clearly planning for an election soon, this convention is important for our party members to gather, share ideas, and plot the road map to securing Canada’s future with an Erin O’Toole led Conservative government,” said Dr. Lewis. “Getting as many people back to work, in every part of Canada, in every sector, as quickly as possible is job one for Conservatives, and I’m looking forward to hearing and seeing the ideas from our grassroots members.”
“It’s exciting to be able to help Canada’s Conservatives manage their largest convention ever,” said Mr. Beaudry. “It’s quite the virtual audience to have interested and engaged, especially for a political convention, and I think that type of involvement from Canadians reflects positively on the state of our democracy in this country.”
Thursday evening will feature the Constitution Plenary, while Friday will have the Policy Plenary in the morning, and the Leader’s speech in the evening. Saturday will see training, a Question and Answer session with the Leader, and National Council election results.
The proposed amendments and resolutions that will be debated during the plenary sessions were determined through a grassroots voting process by EDA Presidents on behalf of the members in their riding.
There were over 6,400 combined votes cast in the policy process, with 196 policies to vote on. The popularity among policies ranged between 124 votes for the most popular, to 88 for the 34th most popular. Any policy ranked outside the top 34 (under 88 votes in this case) could not move to convention per the grassroots led process outlined.
In the constitution process, over 4,400 combined votes were cast, with 63 items to vote on. The popularity among those ranged between 138 votes for the most popular, to 80 for the 30th most popular. Any constitution amendment ranked outside the top 30 (under 80 votes in this case) could not move to convention per the grassroots led process outlined.
The full list of policy and constitution proposals can be found here:
