OTTAWA, Apr 7 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Four people are now in the Canadian Alliance leadership race with Ontario provincial legislator Frank Klees backing out this past week and Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin throwing his hat into the ring. The four candidates are Preston Manning and Stockwell Day from Alberta, Joe Peschisolido from Ontario and Keith Martin from British Columbia.
Mr. Martin is the only social liberal among the candidates. Mr. Peschisolido does not have a political track record, except for a couple of failed bids to win a seat for the Reform Party in the Toronto area. He has not yet had a public presence in the current campaign. Mr. Day’s reputation on social issues has been front-and-centre in many media stories, which question the appeal of his social conservatism to Ontario voters. Mr. Manning prefers to avoid “controversial” social issues on the campaign trail and has a mixed political track record on issues of concern to pro-family and pro-life people.
Pro-life Canadian Alliance MP Garry Breitkreuz today released a statement of support for Mr. Day. Among his comments, he said: “I support Stockwell Day for leader because of his respect for families, his understanding of family issues and the need to defend and support families as the best way of enhancing the lives of our children and sustaining the social fabric of Canadian society. Add to this his respect for grassroots democracy, and I think we’ve got ourselves a winner.”