Dear Progressive Conservative:
With the month almost over, I thought another update on party activities was in order.
This past weekend was particularly busy - indeed, it offers a wonderful snapshot of how hard Tories are working right now, less than a year after the last provincial general election.
Let's start Saturday morning.
Despite the great weather this weekend, many PCs from Yarmouth, Argyle, Shelburne and Digby-Annapolis attended the fourth and final Outlook 2014 session at the Club acadien in Ste-Anne-du-Ruisseau in Argyle. Building on our previous weeks' Outlook 2014 sessions in Glace Bay, Dartmouth and Stellarton, grassroots Tories put forward many great ideas on the kind of party they want to see in four years time. Argyle MLA Chris d'Entremont, former Yarmouth Mayor Charles Crosby and the provincial executive's District Vice President for southwestern Nova Scotia Trevor Cunningham (who's also the president of the Yarmouth PCs) were among those who participated in this most recent Outlook 2014 meeting.
The ideas heard during Outlook 2014 will be compiled in a report later this year for our MLAs, provincial executive, constituency presidents and the party as a whole. Once a new PC Party Leader is chosen in October 2010, the Outlook 2014 report - in concert with interim PC Leader Karen Casey's provincial tour report - will be available as resources for that person. Having attended all four Outlook 2014 sessions that engaged more than 150 party members across the province - including MLAs, constituency presidents and grassroots volunteers - I came away feeling energized by the confidence shown by grassroots Tories that as a party, we can and we will rebuild. A special thanks goes to Vice President Policy Andrew Black, lead facilitator Lewis MacKay and their team of 20 volunteers for contributing so much to this worthwhile initiative. We should also be grateful for the hospitality extended to the four constituencies that hosted these sessions - Argyle, Dartmouth South-Portland Valley, Glace Bay and Pictou Centre.
While Tories in southwestern Nova Scotia talked about ideas for a better future of our party, the Honourable Karen Casey spent her birthday on Saturday the same way she has spent most days since accepting the invitation of MLAs and endorsement of the provincial executive to serve as interim leader in June - meeting Tories and other Nova Scotians across the province.
First, Karen attended the annual meeting and brunch of the Chester-St. Margaret's PCs. Vice President Organization Janet Fryday-Dorey, District Vice President Donna Malone and former MLAs Carolyn Bolivar-Getson and Mark Parent came out to show their support for Chester-St. Margaret's South Shore-St. Margaret's MP Gerald Keddy and former Chester-St. Margaret's MLA Judy Streatch were at this meeting as well and received their usual warm reception from local party members.
Saturday night in Berwick, I joined over 140 PCs in Kings West for their annual dinner. The Honourable Karen Casey was guest speaker and in honour of her birthday being on that day, a special cake was presented and those in attendance sang her happy birthday. The Kings West PCs are in great shape, with a strong team led by president Brian Hirtle with the support of many people, including fundraising chair Eric Meisner, past candidate (and future MLA) Chris Palmer and former MLA George Moody. Many community leaders also attended the dinner, including West Nova MP Greg Kerr, Kings County Warden Fred Whalen and Kentville Mayor Dave Corkum, who thanked Karen for her support for a new school in his community during her time as Education Minister.
As an aside, it was great to walk into the relatively new Berwick Fire Hall to be greeted by Helen North, sitting at a membership table. A familiar face to Valley Tories, Helen was an active Tory in neighbouring Kings North for many years. Having since moved to Berwick, Helen has continued to volunteer her time in her new constituency of Kings West. We are a great party because of the example set by volunteers like Helen!
Meanwhile, in another corner of the province, I understand that a great celebration was held on Saturday night in the constituency of Guysborough-Sheet Harbour. More than 150 Tories from across the province - including Canada's Defence Minister and Central Nova MP Peter MacKay, former Premiers John Hamm and Rodney MacDonald and MLA Cecil Clarke - came together to pay tribute to Ron Chisholm's 10 years of hard work as the local MLA. Like many of our MLAs, Ronnie made his voice heard for his constituents and delivered on many important community projects.
So - one day, four events, more than 400 PC Party members and supporters stepping up to show their commitment to our party. That's a strong foundation on which we can build.
During the rest of April, I was privileged to attend annual meetings in Dartmouth East and Sackville-Cobequid, and made a swing through Queens County to hear ACOA Minister Keith Ashfield speak at the annual fundraising dinner of the South Shore-St. Margaret's Conservative Association in support of MP Gerald Keddy. What was particularly encouraging at this dinner was that it attracted good representation from the five provincial constituencies - including all of their candidates from the last provincial election -that fall within South South-St. Margaret's.
In terms of by-election preparedness, I continue to have regular discussions with the presidents of the PC Associations in Yarmouth and Glace Bay on candidate search and organization, working in concert with neighbouring PC MLAs and Karen Casey's office. We don't know when the Premier will call the by-elections, but as a provincial party we are offering 100 per cent support to these two constituencies.
Every call, every email, every discussion I have with a party member - no matter if the subject is positive, negative or neutral - gets me excited. Because it shows how much people care about seeing our party rebuild and return to being a credible alternative to the NDP. And our PC MLAs are working hard on behalf of all Nova Scotians to oppose the NDP tax, spend and borrow budget.
Finally, in recent weeks, you or someone you know may have received a fundraising letter from PC Nova Scotia Fund chair Ross Haynes. I encourage you to provide whatever support you can to help the party across the province (particularly in light of the by-elections) and in your own constituency. You can easily make a monthly donation for a small amount through Jim David at PC Headquarters - with 50 per cent going to your constituency and 50 per cent going to the provincial party.
As a party, we can only succeed if we stand together, support each other and not let differences divide us. Let's be open to new ideas and learn from each other. As your President, I believe that every Progressive Conservative has something to contribute.
We have a Presidents Council meeting scheduled for May 15 in Bible Hill, so if you have an issue you would like raised, please let your constituency president know. Or, as always, feel free to drop me a line at robert.batherson@pcparty.ns.ca or 902-454-7436.
Keep in touch,
Rob
