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Slim Hope Of New Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader Promoting Pro-Life, Pro-Family Issues

By Thaddeus M. Bakllinski and Steve Jalsevac

TORONTO, July 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership win by Tim Hudak this past weekend is certain to bring in major change to the ailing party, with a substantial shift back to the right. It also provides some slim hope of advances for life and family should the PCs defeat the reigning Liberals in the 2011 election.

The leadership race required three ballots to give Hudak the win over the strong campaigns of pro-life rival Frank Klees and socially liberal Christine Elliot. The newly-elected leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party, in his past political career, was qualified by Campaign Life Coalition as "pro-life with exceptions." Hudak has however been a great disappointment for pro-life, pro-family Ontarians who had originally expected the MPP to stand up for life and family since his first election win under the Harris regime.

In his recent party leadership campaign, Hudak, consistent with his past performance, refused to announce a stand on pro-life issues. However, his campaign promise to abolish the notorious Ontario Human Rights commission likely made the big difference in winning over social conservative party members who were not impressed with the rejection of that policy by Klees and Elliot. Klees's emphatic rejection of the Harris government's policy of some tax support for independent schools likely also cost him much needed votes from social conservatives.

Another item that might indicate some possible hope for the advancement of pro-family initiatives in a Hudak government is the fact that Conservative strategist and leading Canadian homosexual political activist Jamie Watt backed the Christine Elliot campaign instead of the Hudak campaign.

Although Hudak was backed by a who's who of the former Mike Harris regime, Watt, who was one of the influential "whiz kids" in the Harris government, did not join his former associates in supporting Hudak. This may herald the possibility that Hudak has distanced himself from the homosexualist agenda promoted by Watt in both the federal and provincial Conservative camps.

Watt's decision to back Elliot, the most socially liberal of the candidates, did not appear to help Elliot, who many considered to be Hudak's most serious competitor, but who was eliminated in the second round of the voting,
 
The fact that Hudak has surrounded himself with social liberals from the Mike Harris brain trust considerably tempers expectations for any significant advances for life and family from the new leader.  His wife, Deb Hutton, for example, a major influence in Mike Harris's office, is said to be pro-abortion, pro-gay rights and firmly ensconced on the socially liberal side of the PC party. The same applies to some of the other key players in Hudak's campaign who will be given important positions in the party and expect some payback of support for their policies in return for their leadership campaign efforts.

Still, if Hudak expects to win the next provincial election in 2011, it is expected he will determine he cannot follow the disastrous examples of previous leaders Ernie Eves and John Tory, both of whom completely alienated the natural social conservative base of the party, guaranteeing the party's defeat at the polls.

Political observers and pundits are waiting to see if Hudak will govern as his own man and in some significant ways reflective of his social conservative leanings, or give precedence to the advice and direction of  the influential people to whom he owes his leadership win.

See related LifeSiteNews article:
More on Campaign Life Coalition Endorsement of Frank Klees in Ontario PC racehttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060809.html

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