Clement makes it a right race

TONY CLEMENT: 'Our new leader must take a party that is strong today in
some regions and turn it into a party that can speak to all regions of
Canada - east and west, rural and urban, English and French'

By BRIAN LAGHI
Friday, January 16, 2004

OTTAWA -- The contest to lead the new Conservative Party became an official
race yesterday, complete with veiled shots from some of the newly announced
contenders.

The race solidified into a contest among three main players when former
Ontario health minister Tony Clement threw his hat into the ring. He joins
former Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper and auto-parts magnate
Belinda Stronach as contenders. Sources said that MP Chuck Strahl has made
a final decision to not seek the leadership, citing frustration at his
inability to get hold of contest rules.

In his announcement, Mr. Clement said that the new party needs a fresh face
to do well. While avoiding a direct comparison with Mr. Harper, Mr. Clement
said the new leader must be a party-builder, have experience in government
and make the party popular across the country. "Our new leader must
take a party that is strong today in some regions and turn it into a party
that can speak to all regions of Canada -- east and west, rural and urban,
English and French," he said.

While Mr. Harper is seen as the clear front-runner, Mr. Clement's remarks
appeared aimed at reminding party members of what are seen as Mr. Harper's
weaknesses: a deficiency of government experience, the Alliance's lack of
popularity in Ontario, and its rural base. "Our new party needs and
wants a new leader," Mr. Clement said at a kickoff event in Ottawa.

Mr. Clement, 42, was a member of the Ontario government from 1995 until he
lost his seat in last fall's election, and might have counted on the
support of a number of people from the Common Sense Revolution of former
Ontario premier Mike Harris. However, some of those, Mr. Harris among them,
are supporting Ms. Stronach, who is expected to enter the race next week.
Mr. Clement and Ms. Stronach are both seen to be significantly behind Mr.
Harper, and would probably have to support one another to deny Mr. Harper a
victory.

Meanwhile, Mr. Strahl could make his decision public as early as today. He
has cited increasing concern this week that delays in getting rules
established is making it increasingly difficult to organize a campaign. He
has also criticized the party for implimenting an entry fee of $100,000,
$50,000 of which is returnable provided a contestant doesn't break the
rules.

"I'm in, and I'm in to win," Mr. Clement said. "I want to
lead our party because Canada badly needs an alternative to an old, tired
government that's been without an opposition for far too long. the Liberals
did not earn their monopoly on Canadian politics. They got it for free, and
that is about to change."

Mr. Clement is known for his handling of the SARS crisis earlier this year.
He also helped organize the founding of the Canadian Alliance in 2000, but
had all but dropped from the federal scene since the Liberals cruised to a
third strong majority. Mr. Harper took a subtle dig at Mr. Clement for that
reduced visibility. "I knew that there would be risks to my leadership
when I formed this new party, but I put this merger together to encourage
people like Tony to get involved in the party again after a long
absence," he said in a prepared news release.

A spokesman for Mr. Clement noted that Mr. Harper left the Reform Party
before the 1997 election, only to come back two years ago. "Mr. Harper
himself did have an interim period on his record as well, and I'm sure he
knows that he didn't drop his ideals during that time," Gord Haugh
said.

MP Scott Reid, a strong supporter of Mr. Harper, tried yesterday to give
the lie to the notion that an Ontario candidate is better for the party. He
said that Ontarians do not have a history of voting for favoured sons, and
he would be re-elected more easily in his own riding with Mr. Harper as
leader because of his visibility and good track record. "What it boils
down to is winning my own constituency," said Mr. Reid, one of only
MPs two elected in Ontario on the Canadian Alliance ticket in 2000.
"It's pretty clear to me that I will do better with Stephen Harper as
leader than with Tony Clement." Mr. Reid rejected the notion that a
new party needs a new leader.

Mr. Clement said he would wait until later in the campaign to outline major
policy positions. However, he did say that a party led by him would not
move to change the abortion law, and that he would vote to retain the
traditional definition of marriage. He described himself more as a social
libertarian than a social conservative.



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