February 11, 2020, (LifeSiteNews) – A pro-life Canadian politician who intends to run for the Conservative party of Canada leadership had a strong showing in a recent poll, which asked respondents who they think is best to lead their party.
Derek Sloan is a newly elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Hastings—Lennox, and Addington. He had a total of 29 percent of respondents saying they would consider voting Conservative in the next election should he be the party leader.
Jeff Gunnarson, National President for Campaign Life Coalition, Canada’s national pro-life, pro-family political lobbying group, said that Sloan’s showing is a positive indication that the social conservative voice is alive and well.
“He is doing very well, in fact, he is doing as we expected a social conservative would do,” said Gunnarson to LifeSiteNews.
“For all intents and purposes, statistically he is tied for second place… (Peter) O’Toole is considered second man and Sloan is only two points behind the second-place candidate. The new guy on the block, the social conservative guy, is giving Peter (MacKay) a run for this money.”
The poll conducted by Ipsos for Global News which sampled 1,000 Canadians in late January, showed that 40 per cent of respondents would consider voting Conservative in the next election should pro-abortion Peter MacKay be the party leader. The poll was released Feb. 4.
Marilyn Gladu, from the riding of Sarnia—Lambton, and Erin O’Toole, from Durham, who both recently said they will march in the June Toronto pride event, came in with 31 per cent support.
The current leader of the Conservative Party Andrew Scheer announced in the fall that he will be stepping aside, which prompted the leadership race. During the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, he came in a close second place to pro-abortion Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Gunnarson noted that although Sloan is relatively unknown heading into the race, the social conservative voter base is not something to be taken lightly.
“It goes to show you that voters, individual Canadian voters, and party voters, in the makeup there is a good number of Canadians who are socially conservative and want to see someone like Derek Sloan lead.”
For his part, Gunnarson feels that socially conservative candidates must stay true to their beliefs, but at the same time be able to court all fields of the party.
“The key here is to have a social conservative, pro-life candidate who can court all spectrums without compromising their principles,” said Gunnarson.
Derek Sloan was given a “green light” by Campaign Life Coalition in their 2019 election guide and they have supported him via Twitter.
A candidate who intends to run in the leadership for the Conservative Party of Canada, pro-life Richard Décarie, who said he would return the party to a male-female marriage definition, was not included in this particular poll. He also has the support of Campaign Life Coalition.
The poll showed that among conservative voters, Peter MacKay had the highest support at 84 percent. However, despite being in fourth place, Sloan’s overall support at 67 percent is not far behind O’Toole at 73 percent, and Gladu at 69 percent.
Real Women of Canada, a group whose mission is to support traditional family and marriage, recently put out a message stating five socially conservative candidates in the running. They include both Sloan and Décarie.
MacKay is the only candidate who has the full approval of the Conservative Leadership Candidate Nomination Committee. Both O’Toole and Gladu have submitted applications, but they are still in the review process. Alberta businessman Rick Peterson has also announced that he intends to run.
Applicants must submit a $25,000 fee as well as collect 1000 signatures from members in the party from a minimum of seven provinces in 30 ridings. In order for a candidate to get on the final voting ballot, they need to have a total of $300,000 as well as 3,000 signatures. The deadline to enter the race is set for February 27.