Ontario PCs gather this weekend, as some conservatives push for change in government’s direction

Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives will huddle behind closed doors at a policy convention this weekend as some Tories question the party’s direction after nearly eight years in power.

The PCs will hold the event in Toronto, focusing on broad themes that helped Premier Doug Ford secure a third-straight majority government nearly a year ago. But an organized group of provincial conservatives are urging their fellow party members to use the event to think critically about where the party is headed.

Project Ontario launched last year to drive policy conversations it says the party isn’t willing to have. The group consists of 11 strategists and writers known in conservative circles, some of whom have worked in both federal and provincial governments. They include conservative activist Ginny Roth, writer Adam Zivo and public policy analyst Brian Dijkema.

Matt Spoke, a founding contributor to the group, said he wants convention delegates to ask themselves what good power is if it isn’t backed by an ideological foundation. The group supports a number of traditional conservative positions including cutting taxes, lowering government spending and more choice in Ontario's school system.

“Is winning enough if you don't know what you want to accomplish once you're sitting in that office?’” Spoke said in an interview with CBC News.

“The biggest criticism that I've had of this premier is that there seems to be an absence of clarity in principles and vision.”

Project Ontario contributors have criticized the government’s handling of a number of files, including on the economy, education, housing and child care. Spoke said the group initially tried to raise its ideas and concerns internally with Ford’s government, but decided to speak publicly when it was unsuccessful.

Their work has earned them the rancour of Ford and some of his supporters, with the premier branding them “yahoos” and “right-wing radicals”. 

“I’m tough on crime and a prudent fiscal manager," Ford said last September, when asked about the group's criticisms of him. "I don’t know who these yahoos are. It sounds like some radical right group probably tied to maybe a federal party or something.”

Spoke said the group’s ideas aren’t radical at all, and are pulled from other Canadian provinces, including some not governed by Conservatives.

On housing, it says it's advocated for changes to incentivize more construction, such as lower fees and regulatory burdens for builders, including a reduction in development charges.

It's also urged broader debate on the education system, and wants to see more options for parents and students, like charter schools. In some jurisdictions charter schools receive government funding, but operate independently of the state system.

Spoke has found the pushback surprising, he said.

“It's very unique to Ontario that the PC Party sees themselves as sort of like monopoly owners of conservatism in Ontario,” he said. “I think that just ultimately leads to weakness.”