Monday, February 27, 2017

Kellie Leitch's Support is Not a Function of Polls But Based on Common-Sense Policy Proposals

A side-profile photo of Kellie Leitch
Kellie Leitch during the Conservative leadership debate in Saskatoon, November 9, 2016.
Image by iPolitics via
The Canadian Press/Liam Richards

Since my first post on Kellie Leitch, Kellie Leitch: Canada's Compliment to President-elect Donald Trump, which included statistics from a poll conducted by Mainstreet Research, several polls have been released from other polling firms, drawing my attention to the polls game with the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership race.

I can not help but draw a parallel between the CPC leadership race and my experience following the American general election of 2016; that is, how polls did not accurately reflect the reality of President Donald Trump's support.

As one who watched the Republican Party (Grand Old Party or GOP) leadership race, and the general election that followed with great interest, the polls game became abundantly clear especially in the latter part of the general election when President Trump's support grew stronger. The growth of that strong and consistent support increasingly and noticeably put the mainstream media, or to quote Pamela Geller, the "enemedia," into a panic! They were desperate to report skewed statistics—and other fake news—in their efforts to derail his campaign and discourage voter turnout.

On a lesser scale, this is what we are experiencing here in Canada; the enemedia's panic over Kellie Leitch and their attempts to prevent her victory in May, which I wrote about in my previous blog post, The Trump-effect in Canada and the Enemedia's Attempt to Stop Kellie Leitch.

Kellie Leitch's support is not a function of polls 

If you take another look at the above photo, the text, "Leitch surges in the latest Mainstreet Tory leadership poll," is the title of an article by written by BJ Sierkierski who reports on iPolitic's CPC Leadership Tracker (powered by Mainstreet Research). The report was published on February 17, and is one of three listed at iPolitic's Data Tracker.

A graph of CPC leadership race statistics for February 15
Statistics from BJ Sierkierski's February 17 report.
Image by iPolitics 
Although Mainstreet Research and iPolitics seem to be above board, following their polls and reports doesn't make understanding the CPC race any easier. Case in point, the aforementioned article in which Sierkierski included statistics for "first-ballot preference as percentage of vote" which had Kellie Leitch at 20.09%, about 1% behind Kevin O'Leary.

In that article, Sierkierski wrote on the first line, "Kellie Leitch is now the first choice for over one-fifth of Conservative party members, passing Maxime Bernier and nipping at the heels of an increasingly polarizing Kevin O’Leary campaign..." Such wording has an emotional appeal to anyone supporting Kellie Leitch, but that "positive news" was short lived.

One week later on February 23, another iPolitic's CPC Leadership Tracker article written by Sierkierski was published, Scheer climbs, top three slide in latest Mainstreet Tory leadership poll. Sierkierski again reported on the "first-ballot preference as percentage of vote" which had Kellie Leitch at 16.2%, behind O'Leary by about 4%.

Tomorrow, there will be a CPC leadership debate in Edmonton and you can bet that another poll will be released and a subsequent article published at iPolitics within a few days time; not to mention polls and articles from other firms as well. God only knows what the numbers will be and what they will say about them!

Following these polls plays upon one's emotions; a truth that requires one to be very cautious and prudent. In the end analysis, polls are nothing but a "best guess" that do not serve as an assurance of what the reality will, in fact, be. That can only be determined by the vote count in May!

I don't pay any heed to polls; nor, do I put much stock in them as an indication of what is to be understood about the reality of any candidate's support. After vividly recalling the American election experience of 2016, coupled with the knowledge I have acquired about Kellie Leitch and her campaign, polls are, not to put too fine point on it, redundant!

Kellie Leitch's support is a function of common-sense proposals that reflect what she has heard from Canadians 

One of the biggest assets that comes from the Leitch campaign is Kellie's own personal ability to connect with Canadians. Kellie has done this (and continues to do so) during her many months of travelling across the nation, listening to the needs and concerns of Canadians, and speaking on their behalf.

Leitch has responded by developing policy proposals that address those needs and concerns which she has published in detail at her Policy page: Screening for Canadian Values; Cap on Government Spending; No National Carbon Tax; Dismantle the CBC; Against the Legalization of Marijuana; Safer Canadians; Let the People Speak Act; Natural Resources Development; UNRWA/Hamas Funding; Supply Management; Mexican Visas; Israel; Budget Policy; and Firearms Regulation.

The result of which has seen two-thirds of Canadians support Kellie Leitch's vision for Canada! It is a vision that encompasses a bold common-sense approach to fixing the many problems we have in Canada; first and foremost, the failed immigration policies and procedures that have in effect, turned Canada into a country with open borders.

Amongst all of Kellie's policy proposals, what most resonates with Canadians is the Screening For Canadian Values proposal! During Leitch's travels across the country, thousands of Canadians have expressed their belief in a unified Canadian identity that is grounded in shared values:

  • Equal opportunity – We must strive to ensure that everyone has as much of an equal opportunity to succeed as possible, especially our youth
  • Hard work – Everyone must work hard and provide for themselves and their families
  • Helping others – Once people become prosperous, we all are expected to give back to our communities to help others
  • Generosity – Canada is a place that shows what is possible when hard work and generosity come together
  • Freedom and tolerance – A Canadian identity that is based on freedom and tolerance to allow each of us the chance to pursue our best lives and to become our best selves

Part of Kellie's common-sense solutions to promote and protect these Canadian values includes screening all immigrants, refugees, and visitors to Canada for these values with face-to-face interviews with a trained immigration officer. This is the most effective way to ensure that those who desire to come to Canada accept and agree with our Canadian values!

Canada cannot be a country with open borders! As Kellie notes on her web site's Screening For Canadian Values page, "Currently, fewer than 1 in 5 immigrants receive a face-to-face interview with a trained immigration officer. That’s something that should be of concern to all Canadians, especially as the government plans a massive increase in immigration levels."

There is indeed great cause for concern with respect to our immigration policies and procedures. Proof of which comes to us directly from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal government fast-tracked 25,000 Syrian so-called "refugees" into Canada between November 4, 2015, and February 29, 2016. The Government of Canada has listed the total number of Syrian "refugees" that have entered into Canada at 40,081. All this has been done at a cost to Canadian tax payers of $400 million and growing!


A screen shot of the Government of Canada's refugee page
Screen shot of the Government of Canada's refugee key figures. Notice the disclaimer message? It is new since I last published my January 31, post that also referenced the above numbers. Image by Government of Canada/#WelcomeRefugees: Key figures

Canadian immigration offices should not be omitting face-to-face interviews with the overwhelming majority of applicants; this is not nation-building! Kellie stresses the importance of nation-building at her Screening For Canadian Values page:
Since 2001, governments have become obsessed with immigration numbers. Pressure is placed on immigration officials to approve more and more applications every day. Immigration officials are expected to make decisions on seventy-five applications a day. That means less than five minutes per application. That’s not the way to build a nation based on shared values.
Kellie Leitch is absolutely adamant about correcting our immigration policies and procedures and she is the only candidate who has been willing to talk about it and stand up for our Canadian identity that is based on shared, historic Canadian values!

If this blog post resonates well with you, consider Becoming a Conservative for Kellie! By doing so, you will be eligible to vote for Kellie and help secure her victory in May. The deadline to join the CPC for Kellie is March 28.

Above all, if you are not doing so already, do keep Kellie Leitch and her campaign in your prayers.