I went to an event organized by the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce last night in which MP Peter MacKay was the keynote speaker.
His speak was unmemorable expect for of couple of jokes. The most well received line was (quoting from memory). "So I flew Air Canada here today and they were true to their motto; we're not happy until your not happy".
The speach may not have been memorable but I was impressed by his competanance. He had a clear and confident delivery. He was certainly in his element. I was pleased that he was able to come to Cambridge, just as I was disappointed that MP Harper did not visit during the campaign. I sometimes wonder if MP MacKay would make a better leader than MP Harper as he seems to enjoy the political process more and is more charismatic. But those are jsut impressions from television. To be fair to MP Harper I should see him live before I make such a comment.
I was lucky to be standing in the right place at the right time when he came in so I got to introduce myself and to introduce myself to our MP Gary Goodyear. I had sent Dr. Goodyear an email during the campaign and he remembered my name, so that was a very nice touch. Tough skill to master but it is very effective. As I have mentioned before Dr. Goodyear is becoming more high profile in the Conservative Party as he is chair of the Ontario caucus.
I spoke with the President of the Cambridge Association of the Conservative Party of Canada Larry Hardman (that is a mouthful) who mentioned that Cambridge is one of two urban centres in Ontario (Oshawa being the other) that elected a Conservative. At least two of the three Kitchener-Waterloo ridings came be won with more visibility and a strong candidate so it is smart to raise the profile of MP Gary Goodyear as a beachhead in this area.
