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Take three of these. It's a message from your home planet. Be sure to let your ward nurse know how you feel in the morning and if that rash is starting to go away.

   

No, you didn't. Lie to somebody who doesn't have a quote function.



In any case, and again what would it matter even if you were somehow, finally right about something here.

It's a pic from a title bar of an outfitting site. You say it might be photoshopped. Well, pretty much all title bar website pics are art of some sort. So what a revelation Sherlock.

   

They might be Cinnamon bears. ¯\(°_o)/¯ But in any event, unless they were all juvenile bears, they should all be a hell of a lot bigger than the wolf.

   

Interesting aside here: it appears that Churchill is now the only place with grizzly, black and polar bears living in the same area.
Pepper spray anyone?

   

If by 'pepper spray' you mean a spray of full-auto 30-caliber then yes!

   

Prove aren't you cute. It just reminded me of:

Probably done for similar reasons.

   

There is one overriding rule for living in bear country and it has nothing to do with calibers. TAKE THE GARBAGE TO THE DUMP!

   

With your pepper spray to keep off the polar bears in Churchill, right? How have you lived so long?

   

Actually, the only thing that been proved here is Progs don't want anybody talking about Conservatism.

   

   

Easy, just spend less time worrying about bears and more time watching for logging trucks. Risk assessment.

   

??? How so??

   

I didn't say hang out at the dump

   

There's a lot of truth in your statement, Individualist-indeed, your talk about the approach to the "helping state" is reminiscent of the approach Preston Manning took with the Reform Party in his book "The New Canada". Manning convinced many Canadians of the danger of deficits and debt by pointing out that we couldn't pay for healthcare if we went bankrupt. He also didn't bash public servants as lazy and inefficient, but said that the private sector could make better use of their talents.

I would remind you, though, that John Diefenbaker accomplished one of the biggest majorities in Canadian history, and he did it with Quebec on the outside looking in. And for all the stumbles historians like to give Diefenbaker grief for, he also accomplished a lot of meaningful bread and butter things, especially for Western Canadians. His positive legacy includes agriculture reform and getting Red China as a market for our wheat, abolishing many of the ethnic limitations on immigration and being one of the better PMs for Indigenous rights by recognizing their right to vote without losing their Indigenous status, all while continuing with the "helping state" you mention. Diefenbaker is admired as much by the likes of the Laurentian George Grant as he is by Western Prairie conservatives, which is a feat in itself.

We've talked before on Vive Le Canada about the different strains of conservatism in Canada, but I think what you're talking about here illustrates my point that Prairie conservatism still has a strong "common good" element to it that is often overlooked, such that it's not as different in practice from central Canadian Red Toryism as is often thought. Alberta Premiers like Bill Aberhart and Ernest Manning have said and done things that would have horrified their American counterparts. Even Ralph Klein didn't do much to oppose gay marriage or rights...and while the conservative Byfield family blew smoke over it, the rest of conservative Alberta was happy to re-elect him. Not to mention that Ralph Klein's "Third Way" reforms for more private healthcare delivery failed despite his huge majority in the Alberta legislature. Every Alberta conservative I can recall speaking to (and remember that we've been called 'Texas North' for being the most conservative part of the country) supports some private healthcare because they believe it will reduce waiting lists and take pressure off the public system. Otherwise, they are fine with their tax dollars helping people with their medical issues.

So I think that's where a lot of the appeal of conservatism can come from. Making it more difficult to caricature them as Canada's answer to Bible Belt Republicans goes a long way towards broadening their appeal, too. Let's not forget Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney's success at reaching out to more conservative-minded immigrants, such that about a decade ago the Tories were the ones with the most ethnically diverse caucus in Parliament. In Alberta's 2012 election, one wag remarked on the irony of the Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose Alliance being led by women, while the NDP was the only party with a middle-aged white guy at the helm.

As to how to combine such efforts with reaching out to the likes of Kellie Leitch supporters and pro-life activists...well, that's something I'm less sure about. What would you think, Individualist?

   

The advantage that Liberals have over the Convervatives is that the disgruntled far-left types in the former have somewhere they can go - the NDP (or for the really out there, one of Canada’s two, yes two, communist parties). There is no major “further right” party at the federal level to draw the wackos and single-issue zealots out of the CPC. The mainstream media loves to play guilt-by-association, and nothing short of booting such people out of the party will satisfy those ideological antibodies.

Choosing a political party to vote for is like buying a suit off the rack. You find the one that works best with your unique (in this case ideological) shape, knowing you may have to settle for the sleeves being just a bit too short (not enough of Policy X) or the pants a little too roomy (too much of Policy Y). The company making the suits has to come up with a cut that will work for as much of their market as possible.

Nativism and pro-life activism are as toxic for parties of the right in Canada as intersectional identity politics are becoming for parties of the left. Trump made sure of that. These people either need to suck it up and vote for the option closest to them on other issues or start their own party.

   

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