Canada’s Conservatives Seek a Champion, and Redemption<br />He and others bristled at the tight leash Mr. Harper kept on his cabinet,<br />but a government motion giving Quebec a form of nationhood within Canada was too much for Mr. Chong; he resigned rather than vote for the motion, as cabinet rules required.<br />But Canada’s Conservatives are in the political wilderness, still smarting from their defeat by Justin Trudeau<br />and his Liberals in October 2015, and lacking a permanent leader to replace Stephen Harper, the former prime minister, who quickly dropped from sight after the election.<br />Ms. Leitch, who was a cabinet minister in the Harper government, has cast herself as a<br />populist, pushing immigration policies that are the opposite of those of Mr. Trudeau.<br />Mr. Bernier wants to end all government aid to corporations, even though many companies based<br />in Quebec, like Bombardier, the aircraft and rail car maker, depend heavily on the state.<br />Whoever prevails also becomes the leader of the official opposition in Parliament — and, if the<br />Tories can win the most seats in the House of Commons, would become the next prime minister.
