Editing Andrew Scheer (section)

===2017 leadership election===
{{see also|2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election}}
[[File:Andrew Scheer leadership campaign logo.png|thumb|left|Leadership campaign logo]]
On September 28, 2016, Scheer announced his bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party, saying that he had the support of 32 members of the Conservative caucus.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/andrew-scheer-conservative-leadership-race-1.3782244|title=Ex-Commons Speaker Scheer declares candidacy for Conservative leadership |access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/andrew-scheer-announces-support-of-20-members-of-conservative-caucus-as-he-makes-leadership-bid-official|title=Andrew Scheer announces support of 20 members of Conservative caucus as he makes leadership bid official|last=Fekete|first=Jason|work=National Post|date=28 September 2016|access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> On May 27, 2017, Scheer was elected as the second leader of the Conservative Party, beating runner up [[Maxime Bernier]] and more than 12 others with 50.95 per cent of the vote through 13 rounds.<ref name="cbcleadwinner">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-leadership-race-winner-1.4134575|title=Andrew Scheer elected new Conservative leader|last=Harris|first=Kathleen|publisher=[[CBC News]]|date=27 May 2017|access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref> Bernier later attributed his failure to what he called the "fake conservatives" in the [[Supply management (Canada)|supply management]] dairy lobby and agricultural sector. Scheer garnered laughs at the annual Press Gallery dinner by joking:<ref name="mbgm">{{cite news |last1=Bernier |first1=Maxime |title=Excerpt: MP Maxime Bernier details impact of supply-management lobby on Tory leadership bid |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-excerpt-mp-maxime-bernier-details-impact-of-supply-management-lobby/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc |date=10 April 2018 |quote=Andrew was said to have gotten the most laughs when he declared "I certainly don't owe my leadership victory to anybody...", stopping in mid-sentence to take a swig of 2% milk from the carton. "It's a high quality drink and it's affordable too."}}</ref>
{{cquote|"I certainly don't owe my leadership victory to anybody...", stopping in mid-sentence to take a swig of 2% milk from the carton. "It's a high quality drink and it's affordable too."}}

Scheer's campaign for the Conservative leadership was run under the slogan "Real conservative. Real leader."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andrewscheer.com/ |title=Andrew Scheer. Real Conservative. Real Leader |publisher=Andrewscheer.com |access-date=2017-04-25}}</ref> He avoided advocating the [[social conservative]] issues that some of the candidates championed, saying that he wanted to "reach a broader audience of Canadians". Positions on which he took a strong stance included scrapping the [[carbon tax]] and being "tough on crime".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/andrew-scheer-s-conservative-leadership-plans-moving-beyond-debate-club-1.3233739|title=Andrew Scheer's Conservative leadership plans: moving beyond 'debate club'|last=Payton|first=Laura|publisher=[[CTV News]]|date=10 January 2017|access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref> During his political career, Scheer has been compared to former [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Stephen Harper]], and has been called "Harper with a smile"<ref name="holman">{{Cite web|url=https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/opinion/alan-holman-is-scheer-just-a-smiling-harper-110925/|title=ALAN HOLMAN: Is Scheer just a smiling Harper? {{!}} The Guardian|website=www.theguardian.pe.ca|language=en|access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref> or "Stephen Harper 2.0".<ref name="hws">{{Citation|title='Harper with a smile' argues he can keep the Conservative coalition together|date=8 April 2017|url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/915543619783|language=en-CA|access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="rico">{{cite news|url=https://ricochet.media/en/2104/andrew-scheer-and-the-anti-abortion-movement-in-canada|title=Andrew Scheer and the anti-abortion movement in Canada {{!}} Ricochet|work=Ricochet|access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref> Scheer is considered a [[Blue Tory]]<ref name="Krayden">{{cite news|url=http://www.ottawasun.com/2017/05/21/as-conservative-leadership-race-wraps-the-partys-in-good-hands|title=As Conservative leadership race wraps, the party's in good hands|last=Krayden|first=David|date=21 May 2017|access-date=28 May 2017|publisher=[[Ottawa Sun]]}}</ref> and is critical of the policies of Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]], having also been critical of Trudeau's late father, former prime minister [[Pierre Trudeau]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/andrew-scheers-victory-speech-takes-aim-at-trudeau/|title=Andrew Scheer's victory speech takes aim at Trudeau – Macleans.ca|date=27 May 2017|work=Macleans.ca|access-date=16 January 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Scheer considered former prime minister [[John Diefenbaker]] and British [[member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) [[Daniel Hannan]] as political influences.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/andrew-scheer-conservative-party/article36509608/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com&|title=Andrew who? In search of Scheer's still-elusive Conservative identity|date=6 October 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=8 November 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref> Scheer described [[United States Senate|U.S. senator]]s [[Ted Cruz]] and [[Marco Rubio]] as "strong conservative voices" during the 2016 Manning Center Conference.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://pressprogress.ca/former_speaker_andrew_scheer_praises_ted_cruz_and_marco_rubio_as_strong_conservative_voices/|title=VIDEO: Former Speaker Andrew Scheer praises Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio as 'strong conservative voices'|work=PressProgress|access-date=2 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> Unlike other candidates, Scheer's leadership team was focused less on headlines or eye-grabbing policy and more on data and organizing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/05/28/andrew-scheer-from-youngest-house-speaker-to-conservative-leader.html|title=All your Andrew Scheer questions answered|last=Boutilier|first=Alex|date=28 May 2017|work=The Toronto Star|access-date=3 March 2018|language=en-CA|issn=0319-0781}}</ref>

During the Conservative leadership race, Scheer stated that he would balance the federal budget within two years of forming government, but his platform on specific reforms to accomplish this was not revealed at that time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/politics-briefing-andrew-scheer-is-the-new-leader-of-the-conservative-party/article35138985/|title=Politics Briefing newsletter: Andrew Scheer is the new leader of the Conservative Party|date=27 May 2017|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref>

Scheer benefited from the unexpected support of [[Brad Trost]] during the leadership race. It was reported that some of Trost supporters contravened the ''[[Canada Elections Act]]'' and party membership rules by offering incentives to vote. [[Dimitri Soudas]], a former Harper aide, pointed out that it violated election rules and it benefited Scheer's campaign but the ballots had been destroyed so the result stood.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://toronto.citynews.ca/2017/06/23/discounts-offered-exchange-conservative-party-membership-documents-show/|title=Discounts offered in exchange for Conservative Party membership, documents show – CityNews Toronto|date=23 June 2017|work=CityNews Toronto|access-date=17 May 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Andrew Scheer and leadership team.jpg|thumb|Scheer with his leadership team ([[Mark Strahl]], [[Alain Rayes]], [[Lisa Raitt]], [[Chris Warkentin]], and [[Candice Bergen (politician)|Candice Bergen]]) shortly after his leadership victory]]
Scheer was criticized by opposition politicians for removing his campaign platform after winning the Conservative leadership race.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-conservative-leadership-policies-1.4136911|title=Critics accuse new Conservative leader of hiding policies after campaign win|work=CBC News|access-date=17 October 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andrewscheer.com/policy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525150751/http://www.andrewscheer.com/policy|title=Andrew Scheer's policy positions|work=Re-Elect Andrew Scheer in Regina-Qu'Appelle |publisher=Conservative Party of Canada|archive-date=25 May 2017|access-date=13 December 2017}}</ref> Conservative strategists suggested that the ideas proposed by Scheer during the race were not likely to be part of the party's 2019 election platform.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.southasianpost.com/article/7005-scheer-rationality.html|title=Scheer rationality {{!}} South Asian Post {{!}} Indo Canadian newspaper – Vancouver, Surrey, Calgary, Toronto, Brampton, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal|website=www.southasianpost.com|language=en|access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> It was later revealed in a [[Dairy Farmers of Canada]] briefing document after the 2018 Conservative Convention in Halifax that "The powers of the leader are far reaching in preventing policy from being in the party platform. DFC [Dairy Farmers of Canada] has been told by the Leader’s office that he will exercise this power, and that this policy will not be in the Conservative election platform regardless of the outcome at convention".<ref name="theglobeandmail.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-dairy-lobbys-claim-about-a-deal-with-andrew-scheer-is-false/|title=Dairy lobby's claim about a deal with Andrew Scheer is false, Conservative leader's office says|access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref>

The day after the election it was revealed that Hamish Marshall, Scheer's campaign manager, was listed as an IT specialist and one of the directors of the [[far right]] news outlet [[Rebel News#Boycott by the Conservative Party of Canada|The Rebel Media]].<ref name="globalnews.ca">{{cite web|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3680438/a-fight-over-a-four-bedroom-house-the-rebel-media-meltdown-and-the-full-recording-at-the-centre-of-the-controversy/|title=A fight over a four-bedroom house: The Rebel Media meltdown and the full recording at the centre of the controversy|website=Globalnews.ca|access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3485784/andrew-scheer-rebel-media/|title=New Tory leader Andrew Scheer campaign linked with controversial Rebel Media|work=Global News|access-date=14 November 2017|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/scheers-campaign-manager-on-ending-his-rebel-ties/|title=Andrew Scheer's campaign manager on ending his Rebel ties – Macleans.ca|date=17 August 2017|work=Macleans.ca|access-date=17 October 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> On October 16, 2017, ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' asked Scheer if he knew that Marshall worked for the Rebel during the leadership campaign, he responded: "I didn't ask Hamish about every client he had" and then ended the interview. Later, a Conservative spokesperson clarified that Scheer was aware that the Rebel was one of Marshall's many clients, but did not know the specifics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thewalrus.ca/andrew-scheers-ties-to-rebel-media-are-now-impossible-to-deny/|title=Andrew Scheer's Ties to Rebel Media Are Now Impossible to Deny|work=The Walrus|access-date=31 October 2017|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/scheer-walks-out-on-media-when-asked-about-campaign-managers-rebel-ties/article36610946/|title=Scheer walks out on media when asked about campaign manager's Rebel ties|date=16 October 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=12 January 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> The day after, Marshall was named Conservative campaign chair for the [[43rd Canadian federal election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hamish-marshall-andrew-scheer-conservative-campaign-1.4358811|title=Conservatives name former Rebel Media director as 2019 campaign chair|last=Cullen|first=Catherine|date=17 October 2017|work=CBC News}}</ref> On March 21, 2018, in an interview with [[Maclean's|Macleans]], Scheer stated that Marshall and his past relationship with the Rebel should not be conflated with his selection as campaign chair.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-confidence-of-andrew-scheer/|title=The confidence of Andrew Scheer – Macleans.ca|date=21 March 2018|work=Macleans.ca|access-date=21 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>