Why Centre Ice Conservatives

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I have always been interested in current events and politics and consider myself well-read and well-travelled. My undergrad was in political science, I have two law degrees and I worked for a multinational mining company in hedging and mergers & acquisitions, and currently I’m a licensed investment associate. But my first official foray into Canadian politics as a c

andidate in the 2019 federal election was certainly a revelation.

I learned that what I didn’t know (and still don’t) about the clockwork of our political system is mind-boggling. And now, having been a candidate twice, and being involved in two leadership races, knowing how much I still don’t know, I feel for Canadians. Every four years (less if there is a minority government), Canadians have politics thrust upon them because of an election. Not only is there a lot we don’t know (how candidates get selected, the inner workings of riding associations, party and election financing, policy formation, etc.); we are truly at the mercy of a system that woefully underprepares us to select those who will have power to shape our lives as Canadian citizens and all that entails.

Going door-to-door in my first campaign was a real eye-opener. To hear people’s true concerns, instead of what the political framers tell us are their concerns, was astounding. And people’s views on various political parties and politicians was disheartening.

To most people, the members of one political party are all exactly alike. Their views, irrespective of their backgrounds, experiences, heritage, education, and a multitude of other facets, must all be the same.

And the people within the system exacerbate those views. For the opposition party, everything the government does or says is bad. For the government, staying in power is the only thing that matters, and putting down the other parties is just part of the game plan

.

Canadians are polarized. And the pandemic, world events and the proliferation of social media and various information sources have certainly contributed to that polarization. Try as I might to explain to people what I personally stood for and what I believed, their opinions were often set in stone, having been informed by a slogan, sound bite, news clip or catchy and often negative headline, designed not to give a true picture, but to polarize.

Catchphrases and slogans are nice, but they don’t inform Canadians. And neither does hyper-bias. And Conservatives, like Liberals, New Democrats or any other party, are not all one homogenous group.

This is why I accepted to be on the Advisory Council of Centre Ice Conservatives, a voice for mainstream Canadians. Most conservatives are not ideologues, espousing deep political theories, but regular people with regular concerns, which have been exacerbated by current events. We want to solve problems, and we want our government to do better.

I often don’t recognize myself in the narrative regularly put out to the public about conservatives, and that means many Canadians will not either. Canadians deserve to hear from a variety of conservative voices, many of whom

sound like most Canadians. And that is the message of Centre Ice Conservatives.

Other than being a businesswoman with a legal background, I am a wife and mother, and I grew up and raised my two boys in the suburbs of Montreal. I want my children to have the same opportunities for which my parents came to Canada, but I see those opportunities being squandered by our current government. I would like Canadians to see that not only do conservative views fit well within what is considered mainstream, they are what Canada needs right now to get things back on track. Extreme views exist within all political parties, but they do not define them. This is as true of conservatives as any

other party.

I look forward to engaging with more Canadians about conservative ideas and principals in a positive, informing and less partisan manner through Centre Ice Conservatives.