Jean Charest announces run for Conservative leadership in Calgary
'I guarantee you, there's one thing I know and I have learned in politics, I know how to win'
Article content
Former Quebec premier Jean Charest officially confirmed his candidacy for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada on Thursday night in Calgary, telling members he is confident in his ability to win the next federal election.
Speaking to a crowd of about 50 people gathered at the Wildrose Brewery, Charest said he wants to unite what he described as a fractured party.
“I guarantee you, there’s one thing I know and I have learned in politics, I know how to win.”
Charest said he is in favour of pipelines, and he wants to talk about carbon tax and environmental policy in a “smart way.”
“Does it make sense that on the first of April we’re increasing the carbon tax? Obviously not, it doesn’t make sense at all,” he said.
“We can do a lot better. We can be smarter. But to get there, I need the support of the people from Alberta. And it’s going to be a big fight. But you know what, I’ve never had anything else.”
Conservatives will learn who their new leader is on Sept. 10, and candidates have until April 19 to declare their campaign.
Charest, campaigning under the slogan “built to win,” is re-entering federal politics after more than 20 years. His campaign website describes him as a “conservative voice that can bring our movement together around common cause issues that champion our values.”
The 63-year-old launched into federal politics as an elected MP in 1984 under former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government.
Charest became leader of the PC party in 1995, and campaigned strongly on the ‘no’ side of the Quebec referendum. He brought the party back up from two seats to 20 in 1997, and led the party to secure 18 per cent of the national vote two years later.
He dropped out of federal politics to run as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party in 1998. He lost the first election but then led the Liberals to a majority in 2003.
Charest then served as premier of Quebec for three consecutive terms from 2003 to 2012, when he lost the election and his own seat following massive student protests.
Charest announced his candidacy more than a month later than others vying to lead the party, including current party favourite Pierre Poilievre and social conservative Leslyn Lewis.
Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, said Charest’s decision to announce his run in Calgary was no mistake. Calgary is seen as the centre of conservative thought, he said, and Charest has to convince members he is the better candidate than Alberta-born Poilievre.
“Charest feels loyalty to the conservative movement, that’s one reason he’s going in. He doesn’t want to see the party led by someone like Pierre Poilievre. He thinks that Poilievre can’t win a general election, and that will just lead to continuous Liberal rule,” Bratt said.
But Charest has been out of the political game for a while, Bratt said, noting his initial reaction to the campaign was that he is “yesterday’s man.” Charest is also coming in as a progressive conservative and trying to lead a party that looks very different than the one he led.
“But, obviously, he’s got the fire in his belly. The political blood, it’s tough to get rid of when that’s been your whole life. I think he feels he’s got something to offer. It’s clear the Poilievre campaign is worried about him.”
Poilievre has already begun campaigning against Charest, telling Postmedia last week “he has a record of raising taxes on consumers” and “made life more expensive for people when he was a provincial Liberal premier.”
Charest and Poilievre stand opposed to each other on most issues, including the carbon tax, gun regulation and extremism in Canada, Bratt said. Whether conservatives feel there is room for someone like Charest could speak volumes about the future of the party.
“He brings some real assets, he brings some strength to the table but he also brings some weaknesses. We’ll have to see which direction conservative voters go.”
After his launch Thursday, Charest is to appear at a meet and greet Friday morning in Calgary before travelling to Vancouver.
— With files from The Canadian Press
Twitter: @BrittGervaisAB
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.