Boris Johnson speaks to Canadian conservatives in Ottawa

Article content

OTTAWA — Former British prime minister Boris Johnson said he was inspired by the “dynamism” of Canadian conservatism and told a raucous crowd at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference to keep embracing the “single Anglo-Saxon idea of freedom” as the glue to unite the conservative movement.

Johnson was joined on Wednesday by former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott and moderator John O’Sullivan, a British political commentator who worked as a speechwriter for former U.K. prime minister Margaret Thatcher, to kick off the conservative networking conference in Ottawa.

Article content

Article content

Both leaders found consensus on the need to bolster Ukraine against the Russian invasion and in supporting Israel in its war against Hamas. And, after a heated but friendly debate about the best way to tackle climate change, both former prime ministers agreed that patriotism and freedom were the key ideas that would bring electoral success for conservatives.

Both leaders attributed their political victories to appealing to the common man rather than the establishment or their country’s elites. Those sentiments have been central to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s messaging since winning his party’s leadership in 2022.

“It’s fantastic to be here in Canada with this incredible sense that the Conservative Party is not only resurgent but poised for victory,” said Johnson, to loud cheers from the crowd.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this dynamism of Canadian conservatives could somehow communicate itself to to the U.K.,” he said.

Abbott said both he and Johnson won “thumping” majorities by appealing to voters’ sense of patriotism and autonomy. Conservatives should be in favour of smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom, he argued.

Article content

Article content

“Above all else, as patriots, we believe that our country is the best place on earth to live and we want to keep it that way. So we are the freedom party. We are the tradition party. But above all else, we are the patriot party,” said Abbott. “And that is why if we are true to ourselves we should be the natural party of government.”

Both leaders contributed to the celebratory atmosphere at the conference, kicking off the panel by congratulating the Conservative Party of Canada on its polling dominance over the governing Liberals. Although the conference is a nonpartisan networking event designed to bring together the far ends of the conservative ideological movement, it is also an engine for centre-right ideas that could make up Poilievre’s policy platform.

Johnson’s defence of his government’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 drew a mixed response from the crowd and a fierce rebuttal from Abbott.

Article content

“My mantra when I was prime minister was this: that climate does change, that we have to accept that mankind might be making a difference and we should try to reduce emissions as far and as fast as we can. But not if it means big job losses,” said Abbott. “The idea that we should impose massive costs on our citizens, costs that our competitors, rivals and enemies are not bearing, is simply crackers.”

Johnson said he had changed his mind on climate change, from once skeptically arguing that you could cover Britain with wind power and “it wouldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding,” to believing it was important to lower emissions. He warned his fellow conservatives that voters won’t look kindly on a party that doesn’t have credible ideas to deal with an issue they care about.

“Let me tell you, elections are won by the party that really owns the future. And I’m full of excitement about what’s happening here in in Canada, but I think that that people want to see that there’s a plan and a program to deal with this problem in a proper conservative way,” said Johnson.

National Post
stthomson@postmedia.com

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Article content