Conservative Leadership Debate: Power & Politics special edition

Power and Politics extended edition starts at 3 p.m. ET

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[TheogRahoomie]

I'm voting scheer and 2nd choice Bernier

[bobbyp]

Bernier got a vote from me for his last statement. As a social conservative it is important to have open debate on tough views and not be shut out of a political party and forced to vote against conscience as Trudeau has mandated. Bernier has the intelligence, Conservative policies, and libertarian views on social issues and charisma to take on Trudeau.

[emlynlewis]

Let's just get O'leary vs Bernier in there already head to head, sure throw in lefty Chong in there for the establishment candidate in there to get demolished but let's kick out these overwhelmingly useless candidates.

[stickjohnny]

O leary is going to be an extremely weak leader. Therev needs to be strong opposition to the liberals, not a trump of Canada that is going to get bogged down with all the horrible things he has said over the years and the inevitable comparisons to president Chump.

[stevewilliams]

You put "private" and "health care" in the same sentence, you don't win a Canadian election. Ask Stockwell Day.

[luepetri]

I certainly look forward to mature professional behaviour in this debate. There is no room for candidates to "bully". For example at the Atlantic conferance candidates were very condansending and rude to Mr. O Leary

[sarahhess]

Fastfood chains are getting more and more dangerous to eat at. Could some chains like McDonald be making more and more mistakes in their hirings of people who may be trying to make their consumers sick?

[TheOnlyLordRah]

So far Chong is sounding A+, but Obhrai and some others have also peaked my interest. Looking forward to the next debate and learning more!

[killax]

Chong lost me with his carbon tax and antinuclear stance. 45:00 Deepak caught my ear with that comment interestingly enough.

[joncoupland]

Best part of the whole thing is that i could fast forward through the CBC personalities.

[MaryLopez-bvks]

I would not want Kellie as my surgeon...

[giseleaugusteijn]

Errors can only be corrected if & when they are recognized (admitted). let's be mature and recognize that we have wrongly chosen to let Mr. Harper go. How quickly can we get him back and swiftly get Canada back on track ! Kevin O'Leary is another option but let's admit that we have mixed feelings about his views on many aspects of the Canadian Way of Life
Both Harper and O'Leary share Mr. Trump's views on many aspects but Mr. Harper does not have personal business interests that might conflict with clear interest of Canadians.
NOTE: Mr. Harper was immensely more careful & wise about Open Door Immigration !!!

[MaryLopez-bvks]

There's no need to build up the army... well... unless Trump says to pay. Though some don't agree with our Armed Forces going into Afghanistan and the middle east for their conflicts, it is clear that our Armed Forces is sufficient enough from those wars. (Please reply your thoughts).

[ChaosmanOne]

QUESTION 1. What measures, specifically, would you suggest to define the conservative position on social issues and provision of social services?

Let's see if that's even a coherent question. So, "What precise course of action would you take to describe the traditional political arrangement with regards to socially important debate topics and the distribution of government supplied public benefits?"

I guess this is coherent enough - in a nutshell, "What is the conservative stance on social issues and societal welfare?"

Let's see what the answers are:

Chris Alexander - "First of all I think it's a myth. I think it's false to say that conservatives have not been strong in supporting our social safety net; in helping all Canadians move forward with opportunities. We have to be able to afford these things. And when we go into deficit, or debt, over a long period of time, we immediately see the quality of services decline. My platform includes strong measures to end and eliminate homelessness and poverty in Canada. But it also would put us back in the drivers' seat as a leading G7 economy, creating jobs, becoming a center for youthful entrepreneurship, becoming a truly innovative economy that is affording a higher quality of social service for everyone. We also need to hold the provinces and territories to account. They deliver the health care system. They deliver many of the most important services on which Canadians depend; we need to see results, results at the front line for Canadians."

Absolute word salad. The guy shut his brain off and turned his mouth on. Carefully read through that response. Is there a cogent response there? Just plain no, in my opinion.

Kellie Leitch - "Well, on the economy I think we know what plan doesn't work. Justin Trudeau's. And we know that as conservatives, if we put forward a plan that's common sense, we have an opportunity to then take care of others. I put forward a 6 point plan to make sure that we can balance the budget, make sure that we get the waste out of government, capping government spending, making sure that the public sector salaries and benefits are actually in line with the private sector's as opposed to being inflated, and making sure that we're taking and removing taxes on taxes. If we get government spending under control, if we cap government spending, we have an opportunity for the private sector to flourish. And the best social policy is making sure every Canadian has a great job. I want every young Canadian to have a great job so they can take care of their families. We know when families in this country take care of themselves, they're exceptionally generous, they give back. And that's what my plan is. Thank you very much."

Not bad! Pretty coherent answer that mostly stayed on topic and relativity answered the question. Some of it is a bit "pie in the sky", in my opinion.

Andrew Saxton - "Thank you Tom. The best social program is a strong economy and jobs, especially for young Canadians. The unemployment rate amoungst young Canadians is double the national average. At the same time we're bringing in temperary foreign workers to fill jobs in Canada and thousands of jobs are going unfilled every year. We need to break down that historic barrier between the marketplace and the educators so that young Canadians are getting the skills necessary to get the jobs that are available in the marketplace. I lived in Switzerland. Switzerland has an apprenticeship program where the majority of young people, they don't go into university, they go straight into apprenticeship programs after high school. And I'm not just talking about trades, these are professions like banking, insurance and pharmaceuticals. As Prime Minister of Canada I will implement an apprenticeship program here in Canada so that young people will get the jobs that they want."

Okay. I guess. But it doesn't really answer the question of what the "conservative stance on societal welfare" is, does it? Another word salad that doesn't stick to the point, with a specific detail thrown in to cover the fact he doesn't have a clue what he's saying. Pretty poorly put, in my opinion.

Aaron O'Toole - "Thank you Tom and thank you press tonight. I think in the last election, friends, a lot of Canadians liked Justin Trudeau, but already they don't like what Justin Trudeau is doing to Canada and our economy. $100 billion in new debt. $30 billion deficits. More taxes on Canadians, on small business. A nationalized carbon tax and payroll taxes. That's leading to the Liberals' job crisis. Since we're here at the Manning Conference, a room full of conservatives that want ideas, go to my website. I've got a plan. First step, Generation Kickstart, allowing our young people out of college and university to have a 3 to 5 year tax exemption space of $100, 000 to $200, 000; particularly those that will go to the U.S. in high demand professions and skilled trades. The second plan, we're going to return to the Universal Child Care Benefit. The Liberal aproach is not universal and this approach will save money and let us help the most vulnerable with an update to that plan. And the end of the day, a job for mom and dad is what is needed. And that's what I'll bring."

Well, he eventually got to some very specific ideas that he personally has. Do they answer the question? No, not really, in my opinion.

Round 1 goes to Kellie Leitch!

[sinwhole]

"We need to convince Canadians and First Nations" -Andrew Scheer

[LSusin]

Just some of my thoughts from the 1st 3/4 of watching...

Those of us in our 30's, 40's, 50's + need good paying Jobs too, We have been educated, We have been paying Taxes (for many years), We are the Voters and as it is Right know many of us will NOT be able to afford to Retire!!! Stop giving breaks to company's that mostly hire part time employee's and pay poverty line wages ( this is mostly a provincial problem that needs to be fixed ). We need to control Government Waste & Spending! Right - Provinces need accountability before they are given any more money towards health care - Ontario Liberal government is a great reason why this needs to happen!

Andrew Scheer - made a good point regarding us getting oil from foreign sources.
I didn't know that the Aboriginals were trying to put in a pipeline.
I like Deepak, he makes a few good points. Used substanable development :)

Chong - We produce a minuscule of emissions - and you think we can cut further? I disagree with him!

Yes, Revenue neutral carbon tax is BS!!
Good one Kevin O'Leary

Anyway, still not sure who will get my Vote...

[MaryLopez-bvks]

I've watched all the English debates ( I'm not that fluent with French... same with some canidate I know)...
After all of those, these are my top 5 canidates.
1. Deepak Obhrai
2. Andrew Scheer
3. Rick Peterson
4. Kevin O' Leary
5. Rona Ambrose

[tams]

Hello everyone. I have a question: is this for real? Like real politicians etc? Please leave a reply. I really need to know.

[SButter]

Lisa Raitt reminds me too much of hillary