Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole is doing so badly in the polls ahead of election night even his campaign manager doesn’t have faith that he can take out the Liberals.
In a bizarre interview given to the leftist Toronto Star, O’Toole’s campaign manager Walied Soliman claimed that losing to Justin Trudeau would be a form of winning.
“The victory comes in advancing the dialogue with Canadians. At the start of this race, nobody would’ve expected that we’d be in a knife fight in strongly-held Liberal ridings. And today, we are. And we are very proud of Erin O’Toole and the incredible campaign that has been run here,” said Soliman.
“And as far as we’re concerned, we’ve won by simply advancing that dialogue, and I think caucus members and candidates recognize that.”
Although Soliman didn’t concede the election, it’s still telling that he went to a left-wing mainstream media company like the Star. The decision seems to suit O’Toole’s overtly liberal message seeking to attract disenchanted Liberal and NDP voters.
The Conservatives elected O’Toole with the specific hope that he would take out Trudeau. Today, that hope looks misguided considering the fact O’Toole has lost his lead to the Liberals.
By painting themselves as winners, no matter the outcome, O’Toole’s campaign hopes to avoid the undoing former Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer faced following his 2019 election.
Even though Scheer scored more votes than Trudeau and reduced his government to a minority, the Conservative establishment thoroughly whipped the former Leader and forced a leadership race.
Immediately after Scheer lost, Conservative insiders went after him and even his kids’ private schooling to force him to step down from the position.
Can O’Toole expect similar treatment from the party should he lose? That’s yet to be determined, but his campaign seems to hope that he will remain the Conservative Leader after the election.
“Erin is very excited about this evening. He knows he has run a highly professional and respectful campaign. And regardless of the outcome, whether he wins a minority or he simply increases his seat count, he knows that this is the first step in a continuing dialogue and earning the trust of Canadians,” Soliman said.
“And I know that he and his family are absolutely committed to that journey.”
