Diane Finley, who intends to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, is speaking out about what might have gone wrong for the Conservatives on Monday night, and where her party needs to go next.
The longtime MP and outgoing public works minister, who held a number of high-profile portfolios in Stephen Harper鈥檚 government, Friday that voters she met while campaigning suggested Canadians were simply ready for a change.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen, roughly every 10 years, Canadians are in a mood for a change, whether they need it or not,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we were hearing that.鈥�
鈥淲e found at the doors that people really were supportive of our values, our policies, they really liked what we were doing,鈥� she added.
When asked whether voters were turned off by Harper 鈥� something outgoing minister Gail Shea suggested after losing her seat on election night 鈥� Finley agreed there was 鈥渁 degree of that.鈥�
鈥淏ut we have a lot of Harper fans in my riding,鈥� she added.
鈥淎nd let鈥檚 remember, he鈥檚 done a lot for this country,鈥� she said, pointing to his record on lowering taxes and keeping Canada safe.
鈥淪ome people might not like what they perceive to be his management style,鈥� she said. 鈥淗aving worked with him in close quarters, behind the cabinet room doors, I know that perceived style is not his true style.鈥�
Finley said the party has already assembled a team to find out what went wrong.
One thing to examine, she said, was how 鈥渄ifferent messages affected some ridings (but) didn鈥檛 affect others, depending on the makeup of the riding and the part of the country.鈥�
Finley said the party鈥檚 99 incoming MPs, and possibly senators, will meet in a few weeks to choose an interim leader to oversee the party鈥檚 transition to the opposition benches 鈥� where she sat before the Tories took power in 2006.
Outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson also plans to run for the interim job, according to a Niagara Falls Review newspaper report.
Earlier this week, possible long-term leadership contender Lisa Raitt sounded like Finley when she said she was 鈥渉eartened鈥� that 鈥減eople do like our policies,鈥� and cautioned against pegging the loss to the Liberals on Harper alone.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a dangerous step,鈥� Raitt said. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 about necessarily one person, it鈥檚 not about one campaign. It has to be a combination of things, and we鈥檝e got to figure out what it was.鈥�
is why it didn鈥檛 鈥渃onnect鈥� with women between the ages of 18 and 49.
Asked whether the Conservatives need a woman as their next leader, Finley said she thinks the 鈥渕ost capable person鈥� should get the job.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think competence knows gender,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e have some very talented men. We also some very, very skilled women.鈥�
Calgary MP Jason Kenney, who held the high-profile immigration and defence portfolios, is also seen as a long-term leadership contender.
He told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that the party needs 鈥渁 conservatism that is sunnier and more optimistic than what we have sometimes conveyed.鈥�
Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau began his victory speech Monday by quoting Wilfrid Laurier, suggesting that 鈥渟unny ways鈥� and a 鈥減ositive campaign鈥� helped the Liberals win.
