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Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday February 7, 2017

Kellie Leitch’s immigration policy could damage Conservative Party: Peter MacKay

Peter MacKay, one of the people who helped create the modern Conservative Party, says positions on immigration from one leadership candidate may damage the party’s brand.

MacKay was asked what he thought about Kellie Leitch’s policy to screen immigrants for what she terms “Canadian values.”

 The question of what are Canadian values is far from clear, MacKay said.

“When you drill down into that type of discussion the first question that comes to mind is, who makes that decision? And what is that bar going to be? And how possibly could somebody coming from a country that has no understanding of what it means to be a Canadian meet that criteria?”

The former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party helped unite the party with the Canadian Alliance to become the Conservative Party. He decided not to run for the leadership last September and has rarely weighed in on the race since announcing that decision.

He says he’s concerned for the long-term health of the party.

“As somebody who has invested a lot of time and effort into building this party and putting us in contention and somebody who cares deeply for the country, you need competitive parties. You need, in my estimation, a Conservative party that is vying for government,” he explained.

“I do worry about certain positions that have been staked out. Having been through a leadership contest, I know that the rhetoric sometimes gets heated, but it does pose the risk of causing brand damage for the Conservative Party,” MacKay added. (CBC News)