The Written Word
for July 1, 2001

Ever since the fall and demise of the Tories in 1993 there has been the cry to "unite the right". With the development of the Reform Party then its re-invention of the Canadian Alliance it was assumed that the vehicle for right wing unity had been found. But the elections of 1997 and 2000 demonstrated that this vehicle had failed. In both elections the Tories and Reform cum Alliance had split the vote in Ontario permitting the Liberals to win.

"Unite the Right" again became the cry of the defeated.

I detect a pretty major flaw in this notion and it may be just because of my own politics. I do not consider myself a right-winger at all. Were it not for the disgraceful behaviour of the Liberal Party at the time of the Quebec Crisis in 1970 and their subsequent discovery that they could win the country without caring for the western half of it I would still be a Liberal. I suppose I’m the true middle-of-the-roader … I’m a conservative fiscally and on the left socially.

Yet I supported the Reform cum Alliance in three elections – why?

Certainly not because I was a right winger. Certainly it was not because of the anti Semitic, gay bashing, racist feelings of too many of its members. No, I supported Reform/Alliance because they promised what I thought were necessary reforms to the system. I was in tune with their ideas on how Canada ought to govern itself.

The question is, are there many like me? For if there are, a unity of the Canadian Alliance and the Conservative parties has a big problem.

The Conservatives would appease Quebec with distinct society and all that stuff. Joe Clark is an unrepentant Meechkin who believes in asymmetrical federalism which is to say some provinces being more equal than others. I couldn’t support much less belong to such a party.

Are there any in Ontario that feel as I do – in favour of reform but strong for equality not special deals? Are there some Ontarians who voted Alliance who did not do it because they are right wing but because they want genuine reform with a middle of the road administration?

If there are – and I suspect that there are – the notion that a combination of the Tories and the Alliance will be a potent force might need re-examining.