The Clement-Harper-Stronach Issues Matrix

I was recently talking to several people about where the new Conservative Party of Canada falls on the political spectrum. That is, is it nearer to the old Alliance party, the old PC party, or in-between? A couple of people pointed out that the answer depends, in part, on who gets elected as leader. Obviously, the sum of a candidate’s opinions does not a leader make. There are plenty of other factors–experience, vision, charisma–to consider, but I thought this would be a good place to start.

In order to keep track of the platforms of the Conservative Party candidates, and to determine whether I might support one of them, I’ve created the Clement-Harper-Stronach Issues Matrix, or CHSIM for short. I’ve assembled a list of issues which interested me, and then sought out specific information on where the candidates stood on each issue.

As you can see, the CHSIM is still in its infancy, and has more blanks that quotes. This is because of the all-Stronach news cycle that we’re just coming out of, I haven’t had time to search more extensively, and I assume that candidates haven’t offered their perspectives on all these issues.

I’d appreciate any assistance that you can furnish on completing the matrix. If you spot a quote from a candidate on one of these issues, please email me at darren AT darrenbarefoot FULL-STOP com. Also, if there are other issues that you think should be on the matrix, let me know.

If you want to send me some data, please include a source. A web page is preferable, but “heard it on the radio” is acceptable to. I’ll include that as the source reference, and people can take it for what it’s worth. Obviously, some sources are going to be more reliable than others. Additionally, I’m seeking specificity for these issues. For example, probably all three leaders will talk about lowering taxes, but I’m interested in the details of how they propose to do so.