Why I'm a part of Centre Ice Conservatives

A few Christmases ago, I was gifted a copy of the late Charles Krauthammer’s “Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics.” Although I don’t necessarily agree with the ideas behind each and every column in his masterfully collated collection, I am always struck by the conviction behind his written words on topics that – in his view – matter.

With humanitarian crises and war dominating the world stage, dire economic and inflationary challenges facing us at home, and COVID-19 continuing to impact everything that we do, the public policy decisions our leaders are making today matter. Our response to these issues matters. While Mr. Krauthammer is sadly no longer with us to share his own thoughts, his willingness to contribute to the conversation on things that mattered to him during his lifetime serves as an inspiration. It is, in fact, a driving force behind my decision to get involved with Centre Ice Conservatives.

To that point, and looking at politics in Canada today, I see an increasingly polarized state of affairs. As politicians pandering to the far-right discuss conspiracies about Bill Gates and the World Economic Forum, politicians courting the far-left are perfectly content to rack up budget deficits and debts that will see my children’s children’s children footing the bill. Those politicians on the fringes of the right often deny the need for action on climate change, while those politicians on the edges of the left do nothing but pay lip service to a housing affordability crisis that has gripped the country. Meaningful progress on ‘dinner table issues’ has been forsaken in favour of social media soundbites and clickbait; meaningful progress on things that matter has taken a backseat.

Centre Ice Conservatives, as a platform, is committed to championing progress on those things that matter to many Canadians who are tired of fights on the fringes. Canadians like me.

Speaking personally, my background as a Chartered Professional Accountant has provided me with the incredible opportunity to see the positive impact that pro-growth, pro-investment policies can have on people and communities. As a young professional getting set to return to the workforce after a few years away, I am thus keenly interested in public policy that will address economic growth, job creation, and affordability – issues that the current government, in its push to the left, have ignored. Too often, though, support for balanced budgets, prudent spending, and efficient tax policy by certain actors on the right is lumped in with aggressively populist rhetoric that fails to resonate with Canadians who are searching for an alternative to the status quo. It’s not a winning recipe.

There is a clear need for the amplification of voices speaking to the broad swath of Canadians who – among other things – are concerned about the state of the country’s finances, who understand that housing affordability is worth tackling, who believe that climate change is real and demands action, who support our LGBTQ2S+ friends and neighbors, and who believe that Canada can play a more serious role on the world stage. Contrary to what the current state of our political discourse might lead you to believe, this doesn’t have to be an ‘either/or’ proposition.

Charles Krauthammer didn’t write about some things that matter at the expense of others. He wrote about things that matter. My hope is that Centre Ice Conservatives can shine a light on the things that matter to many Canadians, things that either the far left or far right often ignore.