In the penultimate piece in my series of op-eds for the National Post offering advice to the Tories as they select a new leader, I raise the issue of how to combat a widespread view that the Tories are unfeeling and hardhearted. The best way to do that is to embrace reconciliation with Indigenous people and make them headliners for your policy of growth and opportunity rather than redistribution and grievance.
“We should welcome that growing spirit of enterprise and entrepreneurialism that seeks opportunity for Indigenous people, respect for their rights, and control over their own lives. These values are what Conservatives believe lie at the base of Canadians’ great success in the world.
“A pro-opportunity Conservative Party that embraced Indigenous Canada as a respected, necessary and welcome partner in unlocking prosperity would find a growing audience in the Indigenous world. And they’d have the foundation of that distinctive Tory narrative on social issues that Canadians seek.”
March, 2022
