Last Thursday, Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Leader of the Opposition, announced via Facebook Live the newest members of the CPC Leadership team, and I don’t think I speak only for myself when I say that he made some excellent choices. Having announced that he appointed a “regional, gender diverse leadership team,” he decided to appoint leaders who can adequately represent Canada from coast to coast, while appointing both men and women. While that is technically and logistically true, I see his choices more for their qualifications and experience than I do as a way to fill a quota. As a first true test to his leadership abilities, I think he has showed that he is well-equipped to take on Trudeau and the Liberals in 2019.

“Hard working members of our team that represent different backgrounds, regardless of the demographic are there because they earned the right to be there.”

Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Opposition

Not “because its 2015”, not because he’s trying to use it to grab media attention or recognition for appointing a “balanced team”, but appointments made based on merit and hard work to deserving members of the CPC Caucus. I am now excited to introduce to you, the newest members of the Conservative Leadership Team:

Hon. Lisa Raitt, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

Ahh Lisa Raitt, a favourite here at Story of a Tory. Lisa is a true role model, an advocate for women’s rights, and a clear example of what happens when you work hard and never take no for an answer. It is her hope that women will see her in this position and also feel encouraged to seek leadership positions in their own lives and careers.

Her appointment as Deputy Leader of the Opposition was arguably the appointment that had me the most excited. The Ontario MP for Milton, originally from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, served as finance critic under Interim Leader, Rona Ambrose, after serving as Minister of Transport in the previous Harper Government. In her career, Lisa has not only been a strong voice for Ontario, but also for her home riding. With a strong presence in the GTA, and in her home riding, she has the power to reach many.

You can read more about Lisa’s career here.

Lisa was also one of the candidates in the running against Scheer for leadership, and although there were parts of her Leadership Campaign that I didn’t necessarily agree with, for the most part, I thought she ran a tough campaign, and was a little disappointed that she didn’t rank higher (placing 8th on first ballot).

Lisa is one of the Conservative women that I look up to most, and I am so excited to watch her over the next 2 years in this role. Between her and Scheer, the Liberals have their work cut out for them in 2019.

“Anybody who is thinking about wanting to seek the nomination for the Conservative party should find me in Ottawa and I’d be more than happy to talk about the process. It can’t start too soon, we are only two years away from an election.”

Lisa Raitt, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

Hon. Candice Bergen, House Leader of the Official Opposition (Re-appointed)

Candice is another woman that I look up to when I think of my own political ambitions and Conservative women in general. She has been known, not only for her admirable work in Parliament, but also for encouraging other women to also seek leadership positions. Similar to Lisa Raitt, the work that these women do to encourage other women to get involved in the political process will help increase female participation in Canadian politics. Candace was also the first woman to hold this position as House Leader for the Opposition (she actually took over for Scheer when he stepped down to run for Leadership), so to be able to watch her continue on his team as the voice for Manitoba is pretty exciting.

The MP for Portage-Lisgar has said to hold an “iron fist with a velvet glove,” something I think we can all see from her going head to head with Government House Leader, Bardish Chagger. Another tough one to beat, and an even tougher one to go up against in QP, I think it’s safe to say that Scheer made an excellent choice in keeping her on as Opposition House Leader.

You can read more about Candice here.

“We absolutely are united — we’re in step with all of our colleagues in the House of Commons. We’re positive about Canada and the future of our country.”

Hon. Candice Bergen, House Leader of the Official Opposition

Chris Warkentin, Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition (Re-appointed)

The announcement that Scheer would also be reappointing Chris Warkentin, MP for Grand Prairie – Mackenzie as Deputy House Leader was another that I was pleased to hear. Since his first election win in 2006, he has made a name for himself as Trudeau’s “scourge” during Question Period (and also has a pretty good sense of humour).

Chris has an incredibly diverse parliamentary portfolio, having sat on a range of committees and serving different committee roles (you can read all about him here). In early 2015, Chris was also appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Sorry Trudeau, but it looks like you have another 2 years to keep dodging his questions.

And who knows, maybe this Trudeau will actually answer one or two!

“There’s only one way that Canadians will decide that they want to change their government and that’s if they believe there’s somebody else that is waiting in the wings that actually has the capacity to govern. What they are not looking for is simply members of the opposition to be protesters.”

Chris Warkentin, Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition

Alain Rayes, Political Lieutenant in Quebec

Scheer announced that Alain Rayes would be taking over for MP Denis Lebel, who announced that he would be leaving federal politics in the next few weeks, as Political Lieutenant in Quebec. This was one appointment that I had to do a little more digging on, as I wasn’t as familiar with Alain’s career as I was the other four. The Quebec MP for Richmond – Arthabasca is one of many MPs who supported Scheer during his leadership race. Scheer called him the “Ironman” for Quebec in the House of Commons, so I am looking forward to watching how former Victoriaville mayor handles this role.

Plus sur Alain ici.

Mark Strahl, Chief Opposition Whip
And finally, we have the newest Opposition Whip, Mark Strahl, Member of Parliament for Chilliwack-Hope, where he will be serve as both Canada and British Columbia’s voice for “diversity and prosperity” in the House of Commons. He is replacing Gord Brown, who was appointed by interim leader Rona Ambrose, to serve as the new Opposition Whip. Said to be bringing a strong voice for “development and prosperity”, I am also looking forward to watching how he takes on this new leadership role, having served on a number of committees and as as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, I am interested to see how he uses past experiences and applies them in this new role.
You can read more about Mark here.

“I am pleased to be a strong B.C. voice for development and prosperity on Andrew Scheer’s Conservative leadership team. In my new role as chief opposition whip, I will work hard with all my Conservative colleagues to hold this Liberal government to account for Canadian taxpayers and families.”

Mark Strahl, Chief Opposition Whip

Overall, I’m very pleased with this new leadership team. As one of his first major duties as leader, Andrew Scheer had the responsibility of appointing a strong team of leaders to help take the Conservative party into the 2019 election, and overall, I think that he has succeeded in his first five appointments (and in some cases, re-appointments). The Conservative Caucus has the lowest percentage of women, with only 18 female MPs, and I think this is an excellent step towards encouraging conservative women to run by showing them that they have a place at the table, one based on hard work, merit, and (deserve), not based on filling quotas. The one question I have now, (that I think most of us are wondering) is what on earth is going on with Bernier? Perhaps a place in shadow cabinet? I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

Disclaimer: Story of a Tory is in no way affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada or any other political party, be it federal or provincial. The views of each author are independent of all other authors.