Conservatives will continue to focus on taxes and ethics, says Scheer
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is brushing off the loss of two seats in recent byelections in 2017, insisting voters are connecting with his party's opposition to the Liberals' tax plans.
"I continue to believe that the Liberal approach to taxation is going to drive more people away from them," Scheer said in an interview with The House.
"The Liberals have moved so far to the left that they've basically co-opted the NDP, and I believe that leaves a lot of people in the centre who voted Liberal because they thought that they could trust them with aspects of the economy. People in that position, I think more and more of them are realizing that the Liberals are not their party any more."
The Conservatives spent the fall using Question Period to attack the proposed tax changes for small, privately-owned businesses, and Finance Minister Bill Morneau's failure to disclose all of his holdings as required under conflict of interest rules.
Public opinion polls suggest none of that has dampened voter support for the Liberals. But Scheer said the pre-Christmas ruling by the federal ethics watchdog that Prime Minister Trudeau violated four provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act by vacationing on the private Caribbean island of the Aga Khan provides more fodder for the Conservatives when the Commons resumes.
He also downplayed the notion that Canada's robust economic growth in the past year will make it difficult to attack the Liberals' record.
"I believe most people believe that (the economy is growing) despite Justin Trudeau, not because of him. I believe a lot of the success in the economy is thanks to the fundamentals that the government got right under the Conservative party. We signed new trade deals that opened up new markets, we attracted investment."
Scheer said that's the message he will take to voters in the new year.