The editor:
Before anyone counts out federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, let me remind them of several factors.
Mr. Scheer became the youngest speaker of the federal House of Commons in Canadian history. He, like Mr. John Diefenbaker (another great federal Tory leader), is an Ontario-born transplant to Saskatchewan. Dief the Chief, the MP for Prince Albert for many years, overcame a 20-point voter poll deficit in defeating Liberal PM Louis St.-Laurent and he wasn't expected to.
The Tories then went on to capture a majority government in 1958.
Diefenbaker, like Scheer, was a Tory leader who was believed to be unable to succeed and yet he did so exponentially. A much younger man than Dief, Scheer has proven to be a most able parliamentarian.
Despite Maxime Bernier's actions, Scheer, that he is free of Bernier’s distractions inside caucus, has every chance of gaining power from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals, or at least reducing them to a minority status government.
Rory J., Koopmans
Edmonton
