SAROYA: How Conservatives can win in the GTA again
Losing the last election was very difficult for me. It was an honour and a privilege to serve as the MP for Markham-Unionville since 2015. I believe the Conservative Party needs to seriously review what happened in the election, but we also need to stop this senseless bickering.
Last weekend, I was invited to speak at a function in the Greater Toronto Area . As usual, there was an opportunity for questions at the end. The first question was one I have been asked almost daily since the election: What happened? I won against all odds in 2015 when Conservatives were losing seats across the country, in large part due to damage done with ethnic communities. I won again in 2019. So, what happened this time?
The second question asked is really the answer to the first: When will all MPs get vaccinated? Science has spoken. Over 85% of Canadians have spoken by rolling up their shirt sleeves. I understand that all Conservative MPs are now vaccinated or have valid exemptions, but did it need to take this long?
The third question was about continuing to improve Conservative environmental policies, an issue of great importance to communities in the GTA. And the final question was “when will the Conservatives get behind the leader, Erin O’Toole, so you can focus on real issues?”
These are the sentiments I hear when I speak to Canadians every day, whether I am at a Tim Hortons or getting dim sum. They tell me they don’t like the priorities being communicated by some in our party. When I speak to grassroots party members, they tell me they are sick of the bickering. Why can’t our MPs just get to work fighting Justin Trudeau instead of wasting so much time and energy fighting each other?
Everyday Canadians want to hear from us about the everyday things that matter to their lives. The cost of groceries, the fact their adult children can’t afford to get into the housing market, or the ability for their young kids to continue going to school during a pandemic. They do not care the slightest about some meaningless petition, and the only thing they think about Conservative Party infighting is that we must not have our act together.
