Tory determined to stay on as province's Conservative leader
Written by Paul Synnott
Friday, December 28, 2007 - 07:16 AM By: 680News staff
Toronto, Ont. - John Tory vows to stay on as Ontario Conservative leader, but has a fight on his hands from party members upset over their dismal showing in the October election.
Tory said his supporters have not been trying to block delegates to the party's annual general meeting in February from voting for a leadership review.
A recent Nanos Research/Sun Media poll was taken that asked whether Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory should stay or go. The respondents were evenly split; 39 per cent thought Tory should stay on as leader while the same percentage felt he should be replaced. Presumably the remaining 22 per cent; much like the way Tory ran the last election campaign didn’t have a clue.
That survey in itself is relatively meaningless. Of those that want Tory to stay on, we don’t know how many are conservatives who are salivating to return to the Bill Davis era in those bland days of yesteryear or how many are supporters of other parties who see their electoral odds increase if Tory remains at the helm of the PCs. Luckily, the poll is further broken down.
Of those respondents who describe themselves as Progressive Conservative Party supporters, 53 per cent want the leader to stay on while only about 33 per cent think he should go. It is this group that will decide Tory’s fate in the upcoming leadership review that will be held in February. If the poll is accurate, it does not bode well for Ontario’s PC party or for Ontarians.
Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.
By all accounts, John Tory is an individual of impeccable character and integrity who planned to restore civility to Ontario politics. But after positioning this fall’s provincial campaign as a question of leadership, he showed himself to be an unmitigated disaster as a candidate and party leader. And his ignominious defeat revealed everything that’s wrong with contemporary elections. Apart from a tax cut here or a slight increase in funding there, Tory never distinguished himself from Dalton McGuinty. His pièce de résistance—a Conservative fumble of historic proportions—was to attempt to introduce actual ideas into an arena where leaders squabble over the middle of the spectrum. Tory offered to extend public funding to private religious schools, a relatively minor policy idea. The Liberals seized upon the issue, McGuinty blatantly fear-mongered, and Tory never again controlled the message. Ultimately it was Tory’s fault that all other issues—the fragile manufacturing sector, the health care levy, the neglect of Toronto’s crumbling infrastructure, or the laughable Liberal funding of cricket clubs—receded into white noise.
Sun, December 23, 2007 Poll finds February leadership review could go either way
By JAMES WALLACE, SUN MEDIA
John Tory entered the fall provincial election campaign with a decent shot to become premier and form a minority government.
But a disastrous campaign including his ill-advised promise to extend public funding to private faith-based schools has left Tory without a seat in Queen's Park and battling for his political life.
In the face of anonymous smear campaigns and a leadership review in February, Ontario Conservatives, to paraphrase the 1982 punk rock song by the Clash, have to decide whether he should stay or should he go now.
A Nanos Research/Sun Media poll shows the broader Ontario public is split on that question.
The poll shows 39% of Ontarians think Tory should step aside and allow someone else to lead the Conservatives into the 2011 provincial election and almost 39% think he should stay.
"I think what it shows is it's not really a political slam dunk for him to stay," said Nik Nanos, president of Nanos Research.
PC party members and supporters have openly called the October provincial election results "disastrous", following Tory's announcement late in the campaign that reversed the party's stance on funding faith-based schools.
He said some aspects of the party's platform were "not as concisely" delivered as they should have been. He plans to "do a better job of that next time".
Poll results in October didn't earn Tory a seat in the legislature but he remains as the party's leader.
He told reporters that he is "looking forward to" a leadership review, which will see some members of Ontario's federal Conservative caucus decide whether or not Tory should continue as the provincial party leader.
He also told reporters that the biggest challenge he faces in 2008 is working on a "brand new platform", which will draw on a more "grassroots" approach.
"Our system is founded on strong local political foundations," he maintained.
He said Ontario's doctor shortage and farming industry issues will be at the forefront of the "brand new government". Attracting more young people to vote will also be focused on.
Economy, John Tory's future likely to dominate Ontario politics in 2008
Written by Paul Synnott
TORONTO - A sluggish economy and a bid to topple Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory will likely dominate Ontario's political landscape in early 2008 as a re-elected Liberal government, flush with cash, pledges a more "activist agenda" in its second term.
There were few signs of that activism during a brief two-week December session of the legislature, which followed a sweeping Liberal election victory in October that gave the party its first back-to-back majority governments in Ontario in 70 years.
Tory, meanwhile, who is suffering the indignity of being a leader without a seat in the legislature, has his own challenges to face in 2008.
He's accepted responsibility for the party's dismal election results - a consequence of his ill-advised campaign promise to extend public funding to private religious schools - and is vowing to stay on as leader.
Tory, whose name is no longer on the door of the leader's office, is prepared to remain on the job even if he gets only the smallest of majorities among delegates at the party's annual general meeting in London next February.
"I have the support of the entire caucus, all of its elected members," Tory said. "I have the support, I think, of all but two of the members of the party executive."
Having the support of just over half the Conservative delegates may give the leader a little breathing room - but not much, Docherty said.
"Fifty per cent plus one probably buys John Tory another year, and the fact the election isn't until 2011, that may be all the time he needs to make a decision one way or another," he said.
"But 50 per cent plus one - the writing's on the wall."
John Tory has written to the party faithful, taking responsibility for losing the election and pledging to change. But he misses the point. This is not about him, it’s about what is best for the party. It’s about winning the next election.
He writes, “accountability always rests with the leader”. So let’s hold him to account.
What does John Tory bring to the leadership? He has raised a lot of money and put the party on a good financial footing. This is important, but we expect more than that from a leader. We expect our leader to show good judgment, and to win.
It is generally accepted that the last election was lost because of Tory’s decision to promote the faith-based school funding issue. He now promises that the issue is dead, but the damage has been done. Voters will always associate John Tory with faith-based funding - it is the kind of mistake that will never go away.
There were many people who didn't receive a copy of John Tory's letter from last week. We've emailed many people with a copy and decided to post it here for all to see and comment on.
Dear ,
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario is a proud organization, with an incredible record of past successes and endless opportunities for the future.
Quite simply, the campaign we ran in 2007 fell well short of expectations, and did not live up to our party's legacy of success. We do however have a lot we can be proud of. Working with you, I'm very proud that we managed to erase the party's monstrous $10.5 million debt from 2003 and get the party into financial shape to fight the election. We had a great slate of candidates and a committed hard-working team of volunteers around the province who were the backbone of our campaign effort.
Sat, December 15, 2007
The Ontario Conservative leader says he plans to put his leadership to a vote in February.
By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, SUN MEDIA QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
TORONTO -- Another anonymous letter seeking to discredit Conservative Leader John Tory has been mailed out to party supporters, only this time the missive also blames him for the losing campaigns of Conservative leaders Frank Miller, Larry Grossman and Kim Campbell.
"We cannot expect victory in 2011 with John Tory at the helm," says a copy of the letter obtained by Sun Media.
"Just ask former premier Frank Miller, former Ontario PC leader Larry Grossman or former prime minister Kim Campbell.
"Tory chaired these campaigns into the ground and we cannot let him do the same to us again."
This letter, like a previous mailing, was signed "8 not 12" -- a reference to how long the Conservatives have been out of power in Ontario.
Note: as mentioned earlier, DraftALeader.com has nothing to do with these anonymous efforts. We started this campaign in the open and remained committed to continuing to operate that way until the convention is completed.
Embattled Tory fights to hold on to his job
Written by Paul Synnott
Progressive Conservative leader makes written pitch to party faithful to support his bid to remain
Dec 15, 2007 04:30 AM
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Beleaguered Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory is pleading for his job with a written appeal to the party faithful.
Facing an insurgency as Conservatives prepare for a February vote on whether to hold a leadership contest, he yesterday sent a letter to thousands of Tories, urging them to keep him at the helm.
Tory apologized for the "painful" Oct. 10 defeat to Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberals, acknowledging the promise to fund faith-based schools hijacked the Conservative campaign.
"We fell short of our goal and I allowed one issue to halt our momentum. We didn't do a good enough job of clearly defining who we are," he wrote.
"I apologize to you for these mistakes and commit to you that they will not happen again."
After a tour of 13 cities across Ontario, where he has met hundreds of party members, Tory said he would never revisit the religious schools debacle.
"On the issue of the faith-based education policy specifically, I have heard from party members that they believe the issue has been clearly dealt with by the voters and accordingly, we should not deal with it further. I agree," wrote Tory, who lost his seat in Don Valley West to Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.
"The voters rendered a clear verdict, which I accept, and this issue will not be part of any future platform while I am the leader of this party."
His mea culpa continued with an admission that the platform, at an unwieldy 52 pages, was poorly focused.
John Tory has been a fleeting presence around Queen's Park the past couple of months. He's been busy travelling around Ontario and getting an earful from Progressive Conservatives angry about the party's dismal performance in the Oct. 10 election.
He's back at the legislature now and ready to make a determined stand against enemies who would try to evict him from the leader's office in reprisal for leading a campaign that ran aground over his ill-considered idea to boost "faith-based schools" with public money. The mystery is just exactly how many enemies he has.
Conservative leader may face leadership review
Dec 13, 2007 05:17 PM
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Embattled Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory dug in his heels Thursday and vowed to hang on to his job as card-carrying party members who are agitating for a leadership review complained that their plans are being intentionally thwarted.
Disgruntled Conservatives met last week to step up their bid to trigger a leadership review in the face of the party’s disastrous Oct. 10 election campaign, decried by some as the party’s worst ever.
Now, some party sources tell The Canadian Press that they are being deliberately shut out of the delegate selection process in what they believe is a behind-the-scenes effort to bolster support for Tory at the party’s annual meeting in February.
“We’ve heard from a number of folks that are concerned the party may be moving quickly and quietly on some delegate selection meetings,” said one party insider pushing for a leadership review.
“If there are individuals who have tried to have meetings early and quickly to shore up support for the leader, it’s unfortunate that might be the position they have to take.”
The party is supposed to give 15 days notice of delegate selection meetings in each riding, but some party veterans said they were having trouble finding out about their meetings, or that their names had been left off the local riding association list.
“There was a commitment made to post delegate selection meetings on the party website. That just happened today, with two delegate selection meetings tonight and another Saturday, (and) there are several that have already happened,” said one of the organizers of the anti-Tory camp.
“We just want to make sure that members who want to express their view on the future of the party and become a delegate to the convention are able to do that.”
There were also computer problems at party headquarters that prevented new members from joining the Progressive Conservative party, which at least one member said looked suspicious.
Note: It turns out we're not the only ones having a hard time getting information from the Party. This is why we are relying on you, the members, to pass on any information you can.
As of the posting of this, DraftALeader.com has 19 upcoming DSM's listed, the PC Party of Ontario has 3. This seems strange when the Convention Rules Covering Memo states that all DSM Meeting notices are to be faxed, emailed or mailed to the Credentials Chair at least 15 days prior to the meeting. The Credentials Chair is to arrange a Party Representative to be present at all DSM meetings.
Note: Thanks goes out to the Blogging Tories Stephen Taylor for adding DraftALeader.com to the Blogging Tories aggregator.
From the mailbag...
Written by Paul Synnott
Here are some of the opinions that you, the members are sending to the site. Keep the emails and comments coming!
I think it is imperative that support be expressed for a leadership vote within the PCPO.
Whether or not one supports John Tory, a leadership review would allow our current leader to make the case for his continued leadership, in addition to providing an opportunity for him to outline policy positions on a number of issues, many of which were absent from the campaign policy book of the PCPO during the most recent provincial election campaign.
What's being said about the campaign around the blogs in Canada? Stay informed.
If you notice a story or blog post that's not listed here, send an email to
info@draftaleader.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit our contact page.
Last Updated: Thursday, December 6, 2007 | 9:15 AM ET
The Canadian Press
Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory is coming under increasing fire from disgruntled party members angry over the loss of the Oct. 10 Ontario election and calling on members to vote for a review of his leadership at a February policy conference in London, Ont.
Windsor Conservative activist Nick Kouvalis has started a website to help other party members join forces to elect delegates to the February conference who will vote in favour of a leadership review.
Some other party members attended a meeting Wednesday night in Toronto at the home of Ron McLaughlin, chief of staff to former premier Mike Harris, to talk about co-ordinating their efforts to have Tory's leadership reviewed.
Even though he was seen in his Queen's Park office Wednesday, Tory would not make himself available for interviews, and instead sent veteran Conservative Bob Runciman out to talk with reporters about the growing demand for a leadership review.
TORONTO -- Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory is under increasing fire from disgruntled party members angry over the loss of the Oct. 10 election and calling on members to vote for a review of his leadership at a February policy conference in London.
Windsor Conservative activist Nick Kouvalis has started a website, www.draftaleader.com, to help party members join forces to elect delegates to the February conference who will vote in favour of a leadership review.
Other party members were planning a meeting last night in Toronto at the home of Ron McLaughlin, chief of staff to former premier Mike Harris, to talk about co-ordinating efforts to have Tory's leadership reviewed.
Conservative leader keen to fight back as some plot his overthrow
Dec 06, 2007 04:30 AM
Robert Benzie Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Embattled Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory is appealing for help from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives, the Toronto Star has learned.
As senior Progressive Conservatives gathered in Toronto last night to plot Tory's overthrow, the provincial party leader is taking to heart the message Harper gave him recently.
"Kick ass," the Prime Minister told Tory in a lengthy telephone call just after the Oct. 10 landslide re-election victory by Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberals.
Sources say the Prime Minister urged Tory to remain at the helm of the party and reminded Tory that he and his Conservatives lost the 2004 federal election only to bounce back and win in 2006.
But Harper reportedly scolded him for poor tactical and strategic decisions and said the provincial Tories have to learn from their mistakes.
The biggest blunder of the campaign was Tory's promise to extend public funding to faith-based schools, which the Liberals exploited, drowning out issues like taxes, the economy, and crime.
Insiders say Tory will address the federal party's 41 Ontario MPs in Ottawa next Wednesday. He will also meet Ian Brodie, Harper's chief of staff, and Doug Finley, the federal Conservatives' campaign czar, on sharing "best practices" for winning elections.
