OTTAWA 鈥� Stephen Harper鈥檚 former director of communications has joined the outspoken criticism of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, telling CTV鈥檚 Question Period that Scheer鈥檚 position on same-sex marriage 鈥渃ould be fatal鈥� to his future as leader because not supporting same-sex marriage is 鈥渧iewed increasingly as bigotry.鈥�
鈥淚 think it could be a fatal issue. Maybe not in terms of a leadership vote within the Conservative Party but I think in terms of actually being successful in being elected to be the prime minister of the country, I think it鈥檚 a deal-stopper,鈥� said Kory Teneycke, who was also a campaign manager to Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
In an interview that airs on Sunday, Teneycke said that Scheer is going to have to 鈥渃ome around鈥� on the issue of same-sex marriage or he鈥檚 going to have big problems鈥� keeping the job he has now. Teneycke compared the evolution in Canadian society on same-sex marriage to the civil rights movement in the United States.
鈥淥verwhelmingly Canadians do not accept that you can hold the position that 鈥業 am not in favour of equal rights for gays and that I have a moral, a personal moral problem with gay marriage, I think that is viewed increasingly as bigotry,鈥� Teneycke said. He said it鈥檚 not about marching in parades, it鈥檚 about whether Scheer, as a practising Catholic still views homosexuality as a sin.
鈥淭o view it as a sin means that you think that being gay is a choice and I think most people would say it鈥檚 not,鈥� said Teneycke, adding that he thinks there has been a sea of change in Canada on the issue since same-sex marriage was legalized in 2005 and, unlike abortion, he doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 acceptable to be personally opposed to same-sex marriage and lead the country contrary to Scheer鈥檚 assertion.
This stands in since the election loss. Just days after the vote Scheer said he has no plans to march in Pride parades in the future and that social conservatives who do not personally support same-sex marriage among other issues, can still become prime minster.
Not marching is something that Conservative strategist Jason Lietaer called a 鈥渕istake.鈥� He said he鈥檚 been hearing from Conservatives 鈥渁ll over Canada,鈥� who are questioning Scheer鈥檚 assertion that a social conservative can lead the country in this day and age.
鈥淭he question here, what he has to show, is that鈥� there鈥檚 lots of different ways you can show support for the gay community and he鈥檚 got to find a way between now and April to show that, because that is the key, or one of the keys... to winning the next election,鈥� Lietaer said.
These perspectives follow on the heels of former Conservative cabinet minister Peter MacKay saying earlier this week that he thought the social conservative issues 鈥渉ung around Andrew Scheer鈥檚 neck like stinking albatross,鈥� and made female voters nervous.
Both Teneycke and Lietaer said that MacKay is not being disloyal by doing what is supposed to be done after an election loss, namely 鈥渁 full and frank discussion鈥� about what went wrong.
鈥淚 think he was sharing his views, I think they are shared by others,鈥� he said.
In an interview on CTV鈥檚 Power Play Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who was also a longtime federal Conservative cabinet minister, said he doesn鈥檛 think that Scheer鈥檚 position on same-sex marriage will be 鈥渇atal,鈥� adding that he didn鈥檛 think that it was a 鈥渓ive issue鈥� in the 2019 election campaign.
鈥淗is position is the same as Stephen Harper鈥檚 was and won three elections,鈥� Kenney said. 鈥淭hey won every urban seat in Alberta and nobody was talking about issues that were debated and resolved 15 or 20 years ago in Canadian politics. It鈥檚 time to move on, the Conservative Party has.鈥�
CTVNews.ca has asked Scheer鈥檚 office for comment and to further clarify his personal view. While he has said he remains personally pro-life but would uphold the law, when asked during the election if the same delineation applies to his views on same-sex marriage, Scheer
Scheer's record on LGBTQ rights to date
Throughout the campaign Scheer faced questions about his position on same-sex marriage, in part because, prior to the election, the Liberals recirculated a 2005 video of then-backbench MP Scheer speaking against it. In the 14-year-old 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 to being like calling a dog鈥檚 tail a leg.
He has not, and has no plans to march in pride parades, a position other federal leaders have chided him for, and as recently as the last Parliament he joined some of his caucus colleagues in voting against a bill that enshrined protections for trans people by adding gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination under Canadian law.
Scheer and his office have sought to defend his stance, saying that his views have evolved, that Scheer considers the matter settled, and he would not reopen the issue if he was prime minister. He voted in favour of the Conservative party scrapping their internal policy definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman in 2016, and supporters have pointed to the party鈥檚 past record for fighting for the rights of LGBTQ people in other countries.
"I find the notion that one's race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation would make anyone in any way superior or inferior to anybody else absolutely repugnant. And if there's anyone who disagrees with that, there's the door,鈥� Scheer declared in a pre-campaign policy speech. During the race he did say that a Conservative government would 鈥渟upport and introduce鈥� legislation that 鈥減rotects LGBTQ Canadians,鈥� though the Criminal Code and Human Rights Act already prohibit discrimination or hate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Leadership hurdles ahead
Because of the election loss, a leadership review will be triggered at the party鈥檚 convention in Toronto in April, but it鈥檚 possible, if there are enough unsatisfied MPs who got elected under Scheer鈥檚 banner, that they unite and oust their leader sooner.
Under the Reform Act 鈥� a contentious legislative initiative led by once-Conservative leadership hopeful Michael Chong and passed in 2015 鈥� MPs in a caucus have the ability to trigger a leadership review and vote within their caucus, when they meet in Ottawa on Nov. 6.
Should the Conservative caucus agree to the parameters of the Act鈥� something they did not do at the start of the last Parliament 鈥� it would take just 20 per cent of the caucus to sign on in agreement of a review. The actual secret ballot vote requires a majority to vote to replace the leader.
Both Teneycke and Lietaer said that they think Scheer will need to come out of his April review 鈥� viewing the early caucus mutiny as unlikely 鈥� with a very strong mandate, citing the 80 per cent threshold Harper set for himself during his tenure.
Whether he will? 鈥淭he jury is out on that鈥� Teneycke said.
鈥淭o beat Justin Trudeau, who has proven to be a strong brand who has weathered a lot of storms and the Liberal brand is very resilient, I think you need a party that is behind the leader, as much as possible,鈥� said Lietaer.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to be together鈥� He鈥檚 got to bring everyone together and that requires a very strong mandate.鈥�
CTV鈥檚 Question Period airs on CTV News鈥� Facebook page, CTV News Channel and CTV on Sunday at 11 a.m. EDT.
