Remarks by the President
February 5, 2009
Thank you very much.
Fellow Progressive Conservatives…
Believe it or not, being the president of the PC Party of Nova Scotia is one the best volunteer jobs a person could have.
And when I look out into this audience tonight…
With Tories from every corner this great province…
I feel energized…
Inspired…
And determined to roll up my sleeves and work with you, our party grassroots, my colleagues and friends on the provincial executive and our fantastic interim leader and caucus.
I am going to give a more detailed president’s report at tomorrow morning’s annual business meeting.
But I wanted to share a few thoughts with you tonight.
First, I am about to embark upon one of the most dangerous journeys in politics.
Singling out a few people to thank.
Suffice to say, to borrow from that phrase often used in places of worship, this party depends on the time, talent and treasure of every Tory in this room…
And thousands of Tories across the province.
There is no PC Party without you.
And as your president, I want to personally thank you for standing with us during this year of challenges.
But there are some leaders in our party worth noting and celebrating.
Helen Gillis – you are the Meryl Streep of political conventions!
The greatest living annual meeting chair of our time.
If there was an Academy Award for annual meetings, your mantle would be weighed down with hardware.
On behalf of a grateful party, Helen – thank you and your committee volunteers for another great annual meeting!
My predecessor as president – now the Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley – Scott Armstrong.
Scott, as president, you were a tireless supporter of mine as I chaired two policy development processes and led the development of our current vision, mission and values statement.
When I moved to the role of executive vice president, we were a great team together during some tough days for the party before and after the election.
You are a great mentor, advisor and leader.
Even though you are no longer our president, our party will benefit as you distinguish yourself as our latest great Tory MP from Nova Scotia!
On behalf of all Progressive Conservatives – thank you Scott!
I would like to call Karen Casey to the stage as we present Scott with a token of our gratitude to the longest serving party president in almost 20 years!
SCOTT TO STAGE
But the thank yous don’t stop with Scott.
Unfortunately, I don’t have actual gifts for everyone.
To the co-chairs of our leadership selection committee – Alice McCarron and George White…
Thank you for taking on a job that – trust me, having served in that role with my friend Judy Streatch four years ago – won’t increase your number of friends in the party!
But it’s a crucial job – because this year’s leadership race must be fair, open and well organized.
Because while the person who is elected Progressive Conservative leader this fall won’t become premier immediately…
Mark my words – that woman or man will be Nova Scotia’s next premier after the next election!
Of course, our provincial director Jim David is someone who can’t be thanked enough!
I doubt whether I would have agreed to re-offer as president without the knowledge that somebody as capable, organized and dedicated as Jim David was back at our provincial office…
Helping our constituencies…
Serving our party members…
Always there, always ready to help.
That’s our Jim David.
Provincial presidents come and go – I am Jim’s 13th president – but grassroots Tories can always count on Jim.
And a big thank you to his wife Janice for sharing Jim over 20 plus years with seven party leaders – five of whom were premiers – and tens of thousands of party members.
As party members, we also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude…
Not only to the 52 candidates who ran for our party in the last election…
But especially to our Group of Nine – the Nine PC MLAs representing the constituents who elected them, but our party as a whole.
Most of all – I would like to thank our interim leader Karen Casey.
After the resignation of Rodney MacDonald, at the invitation of caucus and unanimous support of the provincial executive, Karen Casey agreed to take on a job that only two other Progressive Conservatives in the last 60 years have held – the job of interim leader.
Most days, the job of interim leader is thankless and without reward.
But Karen has been an extremely active interim leader, carrying the colours of our party in the legislature and reaching out to citizens as part of her tour in all 52 constituencies.
To Karen, her husband Glen and their entire family – thank you
Fellow Tories, the past 12 months since last year’s annual meeting have been tough for our party.
The people voted for change. And in a democracy, the people are always right.
Despite the disappointment and hurt that many of us felt in the days and weeks after June 9, the election results have breathed new life into our party.
There is a new generation of Progressive Conservatives who are stepping up to serve.
In addition to a new Tory MP with Scott Armstrong, we now have a new Tory MLA for Inverness – Allan MacMaster.
And in Antigonish, we came oh so close to winning that by-election with Darren Thompson – a father, community leader and business person who come the next general election will be the next MLA for Antigonish.
Building on our strong foundation of experienced MLAs, we will draw more new people – hard-working women and men who are starting to look for an alternative to the NDP government.
Yes, there is a long road ahead of us.
Yes, there is a lot of work to do.
No, we are not there yet.
But to borrow from either the Rankins or Stan Rogers, the PC Party will rise again!
While the year to come will see a leadership race, with different candidates, different teams and different ideas…
We must always remember that we will win as a united party OR lose as a divided one.
When the final vote is taken on October 30, we must all come together behind our new leader, regardless of who we voted for.
If we do this my friends, not only will we succeed politically as a party, but we will deliver the kind of government that Nova Scotians have enjoyed from Progressive Conservatives since before Canada was a country.
A government that is fiscally responsible and socially progressive.
Never forget, we are the party that brought public education to our province under Sir Charles Tupper.
And we are the party that brought Nova Scotia into Confederation.
Our party is the one that modernized Nova Scotia’s economy under Robert Stanfield.
And introduced Medicare under Ike Smith.
We are the party of the Offshore Accord and the Crown Share – thanks to John Buchanan.
We delivered balanced budgets, tax relief, debt repayment, more jobs and investment, a modern community college system – thanks to my old boss John Hamm.
Nous sommes le parti des droits linguistiques pour les Acadiens, les Acadiennes, les francophones – le parti de Gerald Doucet, de Guy LeBlanc, de Neil LeBlanc et de mon ami Chris d’Entremont.
We are the party of protecting human rights – of giving African Nova Scotians a greater voice, of sitting down as a government with our First Nations people.
And we are the party of a cleaner environment – thanks to Rodney MacDonald and Mark Parent who brought in the toughest environmental law of its kind in Canada.
This is our legacy as a party.
This is our legacy for Nova Scotia that only we can build on as Progressive Conservatives.
This weekend’s convention will show Nova Scotians that the PC Party is ready to rebuild – to bring about a better government, the kind of Progressive Conservative government that Nova Scotians deserve.
Thank you very much!
Please join me in welcoming the co-chairs of the nominating committee, Jeff Hunt of Truro-Bible Hill and Mary Ann McGrath from Halifax Clayton Park.
