OTTAWA -- The co-chair of the Conservative Party of Canada鈥檚 leadership campaign thinks that all of the party鈥檚 2019 candidates should be able to see the findings of former Tory cabinet minister John Baird鈥檚 external review of the campaign.
CTV News political analyst Lisa Raitt said that she thinks the findings of the internal report鈥攚hich the Conservatives say they have no intention of making public or sharing beyond outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and his successor鈥攕hould be made available to every candidate who ran for the party in the last federal election.
鈥淔ailed candidates took part and were interviewed. The results should be shared with them,鈥� Raitt, who was an unsuccessful 2019 election candidate and former deputy leader of the party, said in an email noting that it wouldn鈥檛 necessarily mean disclosing the entire report.
And, responding to Raitt鈥檚 comments, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner agreed that 鈥渢his needs to happen.鈥�
鈥淭here are clear structural deficiencies that have been identified in this report which need to have a plan developed to rectify,鈥� she said questioning how the party could evaluate the plan going forward if they can鈥檛 see what the identified issues are.
Baird鈥檚 report is based on feedback he gathered through meetings with riding-level staff, volunteers, and those who worked in the party鈥檚 campaign war room.
鈥淚 need to be able to go to my constituents, my donors, my members, my stakeholders and my staff and tell them what we feel went wrong and how we're going to fix it. I also need to know that the hours I spent giving feedback means something,鈥� Rempel Garner said.
The findings have landed in Scheer鈥檚 hands one day after the formal leadership race process opened up, and comes as prominent party members are beginning to throw their hats into the ring to replace him.
Rempel Garner said that she thinks the leadership contestants need to be able to say what their plan would be for fixing the issues identified and the membership able to evaluate whether their plans would be sufficient.
Report: discomfort with same-sex marriage 鈥榓n electoral liability鈥�
At least one of the takeaways from the postmortem on the Conservative party鈥檚 federal election campaign was that Scheer鈥檚 unsuccessful bid to be prime minister indicates that a political leader who appears uncomfortable with same-sex marriage is 鈥渁n electoral liability no party can afford.鈥�
That is according to a single line from Baird鈥檚 report provided to CTV News by a source on the party鈥檚 national council.
鈥淥ne positive result of the otherwise dispiriting federal election is that it confirmed large majority support for LGBTQ rights. A political leader who considers gay families less worthy of respect or is visibly uncomfortable with marriage equality is now an electoral liability no party can afford,鈥� reads the portion of the report.
Scheer was asked repeatedly during the campaign to clarify his current personal views and political position on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights more broadly in the lead-up to, and throughout the 40-day federal election campaign.
These questions were prompted after the Liberals resurfaced a 2005 video of then-backbench MP Scheer speaking against marriage equality. In the House of Commons speech, Scheer said that 鈥渉omosexual unions are by nature contradictory鈥� to the inherent qualities of marriage and compared the idea of granting same-sex couples the legal right to marry with calling a dog鈥檚 tail a leg.
Scheer 鈥� who has not participated in Pride parades 鈥� sought to defend his views, saying that his stance had evolved, he considers the matter settled, would find other ways to support the community, and he would not reopen the issue of same-sex marriage if he was prime minister.
After the campaign concluded several prominent Conservative voices spoke out about Scheer鈥檚 position and messaging on the matter, saying his stance could ultimately cost him his job.
Facing continued criticism on this aspect of the race and others, as well as questions about his ability to defeat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on Dec. 12 Scheer announced he鈥檇 be resigning as leader as soon as his replacement is named.
Report lands as race heats up
It鈥檚 expected that each candidate will be questioned on their positons on social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion in the course of the party鈥檚 months-long leadership election process.
So far, CTV News has confirmed Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre and Erin O鈥橳oole both plan to enter the race, and Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu has already announced her plan to run. Former NDP leader and CTV News political analyst Tom Mulcair has said former Quebec premier Jean Charest is also considering a bid.
On Wednesday, Peter MacKay, who was federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leader pre-merger, said he鈥檚 鈥渋n.鈥� After the election he said that social issues hung around Scheer鈥檚 neck like a 鈥渟tinking albatross.鈥�
The victor is scheduled to be declared in Toronto on June 27, at a convention that coincides with the city鈥檚 Pride festivities. The Conservative party has said the timing wasn鈥檛 a factor in the decision-making process around when the vote would be held.
With files from CTV News鈥� Michel Boyer and Sarah Turnbull
