As I mentioned earlier this week, Opposition Leader Stephen Harper came to Cambridge today to give a speech at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. This is the second time in four months that the CCC has hosted a high-profile Conservative. Deputy Leader MacKay gave a speech earlier in the year.
I assume that this has a lot to do with the fact that MP Gary Goodyear is the Ontario caucus Chair. Here is a picture of MP Goodyear giving the introduction.
I have met MP Goodyear on a couple of occasions and have emailed him several times. He has always answered my emails promptly with good answers which I thanked him for today.
Fellow blogger Brent Colbert was also at the speech and I had a good chat with him. He has done an excellent job introducing the key players in Adscam so if you haven't already go check out his site.
MP Harpers speech was of similar quality to his convention speech. A couple of things jumped right out. The first is that the crowd was pumped. I heard him being interviewed on the radio afterwards and he mentioned that it felt more like a campaign event than a Chamber speech. I second that. Also at one point MP Harper got off the script and spoke from the heart about how the Liberals "have the gall to turn around and not just point the finger saying where fighting the separatists but now turn around and say everyone who against it (corruption) is working with the separatists. These people should be absolutely ashamed and show some degree of being sorry for what they have done to this country" (story and video on CTV)
The crowd really fed off of his animation and there was a huge ovation. I suggest that he should do that more often.
He seems to be getting better at telling a joke as well.
I am very pleased that MP Harper is starting to tour as the Conservatives really need to get the message out. The crowd was obviously partisan and as such they were ready for an election. The Conservatives now need to sell themselves to the broader Ontario audience. The more time MP Harper spends in Ontario the better their results will be. I also think that high-profile members from safe ridings (like everyone from Alberta) should be touring Ontario to give speeches. But I am just being selfish, I want to meet MP Monte Solberg!
Update: The Globe and Mail has a story about the speech as well. The CBC has one as well.
