Tories set to cement merger of the right

[Ottawa]  Canada's two conservative parties are on the verge of a historic
political union today as federal Tories vote to match the overwhelming
endorsement given the deal Friday by more than 50,000 Canadian Alliance
members.

Some Progressive Conservatives believe that more than 80 per cent will vote
in favour when they meet in several different cities Saturday in a video
link-up. If the merger is approved, the two parties will begin next week to
discuss sitting together in the House of Commons in the new year, setting
up a new headquarters and probably appointing an interim leader while the
new party conducts a leadership race to select its first chief.

Friday, Alliance members from across the country voted 96 per cent in
favour of joining forces in the new entity, to be called the Conservative
Party of Canada. "We want to build together a formidable conservative
movement, one conservative voice from coast to coast to challenge the
Martin-Chretien government and to put an end to a decade of waste,
corruption and mismanagement", Alliance Leader Stephen Harper said in
announcing the result.

Overwhelming majorities of Alliance members in every province supported the
deal. However, the party's main electoral weakness was also on display in
the results: Fewer than 1,700 of the more than 53,000 voters were from east
of the Ontario-Quebec border. More than 17,000 votes  about one-third  came
from Alberta, and less than 1 per cent came from Quebec. A total of 44
votes came from Newfoundland.

If Tories follow suit Saturday, the two parties will put an end to 15 years
of sniping that began when Preston Manning founded the Reform Party. A yes
vote from both parties is considered a mandate for Mr. Harper and Tory
Leader Peter MacKay to create the new party. They will then ask Elections
Canada to incorporate it.

In an apparent effort to reach out to Tories, Mr. Harper paid homage to the
Progressive Conservative Party and Canada's first prime minister, Sir John
A. Macdonald, whom he credited with building the country. He said the two
parties will have to bring their individual strengths together to make a
greater whole. Many observers have suggested that the new party could be
viewed as an Alliance takeover, particularly if Mr. Harper wins the
leadership. The Alliance Leader acknowledged that the strength of the
approval will give his party's members confidence that the new entity will
reflect their views.

Obviously, our members are responding with a great deal of confidence to
that challenge, and they should, Mr. Harper said. But I say to them, and I
say to others on the other side as well: This new party can't be just a
Canadian Alliance made bigger, any more than it can just be the Progressive
Conservative Party made bigger.

Besides Mr. Harper, Mr. MacKay is also expected to run for the leadership,
as is Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice. Others considering the plunge include
MPs Scott Brison, Brian Pallister and Chuck Strahl. Mr. Harper is seen as
the front-runner and has already assembled a campaign team.

Tory House Leader Loyola Hearn said yesterday he expects his party to
endorse the deal with a hefty majority. I'll be surprised if it's less than
85 per cent, he said in an interview.

One party source said the only real area of concern is in Saskatchewan,
where party maverick David Orchard lives. The source said that about 75 per
cent of that province's delegates support the deal, a little less than the
country-wide average. Mr. Orchard's effort to stop the merger failed in a
Toronto courtroom Friday. Mr. Orchard conceded there was little hope that
today's vote will fail. At least two-thirds of party members must vote in
favour of the deal for it to pass.

Mr. Harper predicted the Tories will pass it handily. "I think the
vote you'll see tomorrow with the PCs will be overwhelmingly positive; in
the same vicinity as our vote".

Mr. Hearn said next week's discussion among caucus members will include
whether the two parties will sit together in the House of Commons when it
resumes sitting in the new year. The members will also have to decide who
becomes the party's interim leader if both Mr. MacKay and Mr. Harper run.
Another thorny issue will be where to locate the party's new headquarters.
The Alliance's head office is in Calgary; the Tories' is in Ottawa.

The parties have each appointed individuals to cobble together other
portions of the deal. For example, the two parties must appoint five to
seven people to an interim council that will draft a constitution,
establish new riding associations and file the appropriate papers with
Elections Canada. The parties have also agreed to set up a Conservative
Fund Trust, which will be asked to raise money and retire the debt of
either party.


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