A new political party that aims to appeal to disaffected Liberals and Conservatives will field candidates in a pair of federal by-elections in Quebec and Manitoba next month.
“Canadians are looking for a positive alternative. Whether they like what we have to offer, we’ll find out in the weeks and months to come,” Dominic Cardy, interim leader for the Canadian Future Party, said at a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Tech entrepreneur Mark Khoury, a former member of the Canadian Forces, is running for the party in the Montreal-area riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, while Zbig Strycharzy, a member of the federal public service, is running in the Manitoba riding of Elmwood-Transcona. Both by-elections are being held Sept. 16.
The Future Party, which was registered by Elections Canada earlier this month, arose from Centre Ice Canadians, a group created during the 2022 leadership race for the federal Conservatives to make the case for a moderate path in politics.
The party plans a convention in November, at which Mr. Cardy hopes to make a case to be permanent party leader, and will run as many candidates as possible in the next federal election, scheduled for the fall of 2025.
Mr. Cardy said his party hopes to appeal to voters who are tired of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, but who are also wary about the “extremism and divisiveness” of the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre.
The Future Party’s policy proposals include increasing Canada’s defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP as requested by NATO, working with the public and private sectors to build housing, and opening up competition in telecommunications, airlines and agriculture.
Mr. Cardy said he isn’t worried about the Conservatives’ consistently large lead in the polls, suggesting many voters are just parking their support with the party.
“Our hope is we can take advantage of this moment when it’s clear that Canadians so want change, but they are not particularly comfortable with Mr. Poilievre. We’ll offer them something new, different and positive.”
Tara McPhail, interim Future Party president, said at Wednesday’s news conference that she has lost faith with the federal Conservatives after a long period of activism in that wing of Canadian politics.
She said she worked as a staffer on Parliament Hill and was a long-term member of the Progressive Conservatives and federal Conservatives, including in the past leadership race. She also served as president of the Conservative electoral district association in Vancouver Kingsway.
“But I became disenchanted with the options I saw. We have a fiscally incompetent government and an opposition who responds to that with policies by rhyme and a boatload of snark,” she said.
Ms. McPhail said her exit left some Conservative associates unhappy and accusing her of deserting the party.
“My response is the party deserted me. The Conservative Party today is not the the conservative party of Brian Mulroney. It is not a centrist party. It is not moderate in terms of policy or tone.
“We know that Canadians tend to hug the centre. They are looking for good judgment, civility and moderate, rational policies. To be frank, I think those are missing in today’s Conservative Party. That is what I say to my Conservative friends.”
On Wednesday, the current federal Conservatives took aim at the Future Party.
“We are not paying much attention to what the former NDP leader says and neither are Canadians,” Sebastian Skamski, media relations director for the Official Opposition Leader’s office, said in a statement.
Mr. Skamski was referring to Mr. Cardy’s political past as leader of the NDP in New Brunswick from 2011 to 2017. He then joined the Progressive Conservatives and served as education minister between 2018 and 2022.
Mr. Cardy has subsequently sat as an independent but plans to end his career in provincial politics with the pending election in the province this fall.
“If Canadians want to get rid of the disastrous Trudeau government and its punishing carbon tax, which is propped up by Jagmeet Singh and Dominic Cardy’s NDP friends, voting for Pierre Poilievre’s common-sense Conservatives is the only option,” Mr. Skamski said.
Parker Lund, a spokesperson for the federal Liberals, did not directly address the Future Party’s criticisms of the Liberals in response to questions.
But he said in a statement that it appears that Conservatives across Canada don’t feel welcome in the iteration of the party under Mr. Poilievre.
