Like any fortunate bettor, Gary Vidal is pleased he picked the right horse.
The MP for northern Saskatchewan endorsed Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate Erin O’Toole for the party’s leadership earlier this year, even though he sat second in total endorsements for almost the entire campaign. Nonetheless, Vidal’s choice paid off as O’Toole was named the party’s new leader August 23.
Was the MP for Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River thrilled to see his choice finish first?
“You know what? I was,” Vidal said.
The first-term MP said he picked O’Toole - who he refers to as “Mr. O’Toole” - because he felt the new leader was the right person for the job.
“To see him win was obviously rewarding, from that perspective. The other thing that we really liked was that our riding was the only riding in Saskatchewan where he actually won the first ballot - the rest of Saskatchewan actually supported [fellow leadership candidate] Leslyn Lewis on the first ballot,” Vidal said.
“I’m really happy that, if it was people following my lead a little bit, that they had confidence in me from that perspective. I’m very excited to see what Mr. O'Toole can do. A lot of the reason I picked him was I think he can bring our party to kind of that ‘big tent’ party that we are and keep us united, keep us working together.”
Vidal came to the Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach area August 24-26, meeting with council members from Creighton and Denare Beach, holding a pair of meet-and-greet events in the community and doing some sightseeing, coming to the Whitney Forum.
“We had a good opportunity to listen to folks, hear what their concerns are, talking about things,” Vidal said.
While northern communities have historically voted for the NDP in provincial elections, the federal northern Saskatchewan riding Vidal represents has switched between all three of Canada’s largest political parties. Within Creighton and Denare Beach in last year’s federal election, Vidal won the most votes of any candidate.
Often when political figures endorse a candidate, it is done so with the understanding that the candidate, if they win and become Prime Minister, will remember their supporters were when providing favours such as cabinet posts. Vidal said his endorsement of O’Toole wasn’t done with his own career in mind.
“To be absolutely 100 per cent honest, when I talked to Mr. O’Toole in the process of making my decision on who I would support, I told him that I would support him and there was no expectations in return,” Vidal said.
“If I get appointed to some kind of a role, I hope Mr. O'Toole appoints me because I have ability and merit, not because I supported him in this race. That's up to his and his team's judgment and if he asked me to do a job, I will gladly do that job. If he doesn't, I will serve the residents of northern Saskatchewan.”
Vidal’s stop in the Flin Flon/Creighton/Denare Beach area bore more than a passing resemblance to visits he made both during and in the lead-up to last year’s federal election campaign. When asked if he was preparing for a possible election once Parliament reconvenes this fall, Vidal kept his cards close to his chest, saying his visit was part of a plan he made pre-election to travel as much as possible within his riding.
“One of the things that we are committed to doing is making sure we represent everybody in the riding. I made that very clear to everybody I talked to, because I criticized the former MP for not doing that,” Vidal said.
“There could be an election in two months - I have no idea - but in all fairness, we would have been here in the last four months instead of now if it hadn’t been for COVID-19.”
