The Hill Times
OAKVILLE, ONT.—It appears that Ontario Premier Doug Ford will soon face some friendly fire.That’s to say not only will he have to worry about opponents on the left, but also about allies on the right. In fact, just recently, a website called “Project Ontario” was established with the aim of pushing Ford’s provincial Progressive Conservative government in a more fiscally conservative direction.
Says the website: “When conservatives lose their principles, Ontario loses its way.” And just in case anyone misses the point about this group, more information about its aims and goals are posted in a manifesto published in The Hub, an online news outlet. As this manifesto puts it, “Conservatives in Ontario have long stood for sound principles: fiscal responsibility, personal freedom, accountable government, and a belief that the private sector and civil society, not government, are the true engines of prosperity. ... Yet too often, Ontario’s elites—in government, business, and academia—have chosen managed decline, protecting their assets and influence rather than pursuing a dynamic, abundant future for the next generation.” It concludes by saying Project Ontario is a “grassroots movement of conservatives who are ready to think big, act boldly, and put forward practical, principled solutions.” If nothing else, all this should serve as a reminder that there’s a big difference between Canada’s conservative movement and its conservative parties, the former being primarily concerned with pushing ideological principles and ideals, while the latter is mainly focused on winning elections. It’s this difference in priorities that often pits one faction against the other, sometimes triggering a conservative civil war between grassroots ideologues and pragmatic politicians. Such civil wars are sometimes waged out in the open, like when conservative groups launch multi-media ad campaigns to target conservative politicians for not being conservative enough. I’ve found myself on both sides of these ideological battle lines. Back in the early 1990s, for instance, while working for a conservative advocacy group, I was part of a media campaign blasting the federal Progressive Conservative government of then-prime minister Brian Mulroney for its profligate, deficit-creating spending policies. Years later, while working on a Republican primary campaign in the United States, I had to help fend off attacks launched against us by Christian conservative groups who ran ads accusing our candidate of being “shockingly liberal' due to his pro-choice stance on abortion. Of course, at times, conflicts between ideologues and politicians can take a more subtle form. For example, back in the mid-1980s, when the Ontario PC Party seemed to be moving to the left, a conservative group, the National Citizens Coalition , urged PC members to reply to party fundraising requests with this colorful message: “You’re too pink, you won’t see any of my green until you turn blue.” As a further twist of the knife, it was also recommended that PC members redirect their donations to the NCC. Nothing gets a political party’s attention like an attack on its wallet. At any rate, it’s too early to tell what sort of action Project Ontario will take to promote conservative policies, or how aggressive it will be in pushing those policies. Indeed, its manifesto is vague as it simply says, “We are bringing together conservatives from across Ontario — party members, business owners, policy experts, and engaged citizens — to build a shared vision for the province's future. Together, we will craft a policy framework that applies conservative values to today's most pressing issues.' Plus, we don’t know how much money Project Ontario will spend to advance its cause. But one thing we do know is that some conservatives are unhappy with Premier Ford. Gerry Nicholls is a communications consultant. The Hill Times
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