The Conservative Party is overhauling its policy playbook. Here's what's changing

Delegates at the conservativist Party's subject formula in Calgary voted overpoweringly sabbatum to enact a "stand your ground"-style law to allow someone to protect themselves with lethal force against an intruder in their home.

This was one of dozens of policies debated and adopted by delegates at this biannual gathering, many of which focused on crime, immigration and social policy.

After handing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a strong endorsement, party members renewed their policy playbook ahead of the next possible federal election.

With an eye on the next campaign, delegates said they want Poilievre to rule out decriminalizing any more drugs, tighten bail and enact stricter laws to try to prevent intimate partner violence.

An overwhelming number of delegates — again, about 77 per cent — also endorsed a policy to pursue immediate deportation of non-citizens in Canada convicted of a serious offence, with a "default permanent ban on re-entry" and provisions for "asset forfeiture" of foreign criminals forced to leave.

As it stands, these criminals generally serve a sentence in Canada before facing deportation proceedings.

Immigration was a common topic at the convention.

A decisive 97 per cent of delegates, for example, supported tighter immigration rules, especially as it relates to establishing more "comprehensive screening" of would-be newcomers. Delegates agreed there needs to be "border security reform" and an overhaul of the asylum system.

'You will again have a country that respects your autonomy,' says Poilievre to separatists

While most policies sailed through with lopsided margins, one policy in particular revealed division in the party.

Social conservative delegates pushed a resolution that would have made it official Conservative policy to oppose the existing "conversion therapy ban," which was enacted by the last Liberal government.

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole allowed it to pass unopposed even though some of his MPs wanted to vote against it, a decision that was a source of some tension at the time. 

The policy criminalizes the discredited practice of trying to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

"We believe that parents have the right to arrange for body-affirming talk therapy for their gender-confused child, and we oppose the federal 'Conversion Therapy Ban' which criminalizes parents for doing so," the proposed resolution read.

The main sponsor, Jack Fonseca, director of political operations at anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition, said a change is needed to crack down on what he called "woke school teachers" who he alleged were encouraging gender transitions.

While a very narrow majority of delegates — 52 per cent — voted in favour of opposing the ban, it failed to get a "double majority," which requires resolutions to be passed not only by a majority of delegates but also by majorities in more than half the provinces and the three territories (which are counted as one jurisdiction).

A majority of delegates from Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and the territories stood against the call to restore a lax approach to a practice that many 2SLGBTQ+ people who have been subjected to it say was traumatizing.

A proposed policy to strike the party's commitment to not enact a law restricting abortion failed to make it onto the convention floor because it didn't draw enough support in a smaller breakout session that narrowed down the list of would-be policies.

The beefed up self-defence policy, if passed into law by a future Conservative government, would shield Canadians from criminal prosecution if they act "decisively" against someone who comes into their home uninvited — going further than current criminal law, which allows for self-protection but only in some circumstances.

Not a single delegate spoke against the policy, which was endorsed by 91 per cent of members at the convention. It came about amid outrage that a Lindsay, Ont., man faced criminal charges last year for allegedly defending himself against a home intruder.

"Too often victims get punished," said Nicholas Godat, a delegate from Wellington-Halton Hills, the Ontario riding that pitched the policy.

"We need to have a clear policy on Canadians' ability to defend themselves" to ensure overzealous Crown prosecutors "won't punish you," he said.

Some U.S. Jurisdictions have similar laws on the books — people can use deadly force if they feel threatened in a place they are legally allowed to be — but this Conservative policy is more narrow and would apply to conduct in a home only.

The policy has been a source of controversy south of the border, most notably in the high-profile case of the death of Trayvon Martin.

Poilievre is a supporter, calling for a "castle law" in his speech to delegates Friday. He said he wants rules on the books that "allows you to take whatever action necessary to protect your family against home invasion."

Earlier Saturday, as delegates debated changes to the party's constitution, grassroots Conservatives demanded more say over who runs for the party.

Two-thirds of the delegates on hand agreed to give local officials the right to interview all prospective candidates for the nomination and recommend to the national candidate selection committee who should be able to run.

That national organ should only be able to override local decisions "in exceptional circumstances," and there will be an appeal mechanism, according to a constitutional change adopted by the convention.

To stop the party from giving a leg up to a favoured candidate for a particular nomination, delegates also demanded that all prospective Conservative Party nominees be given local membership lists at the same time.

The party list is a crucial document — it's what candidates use to focus their campaigns on members who are actually expected to vote, which saves time and resources.

Delegates also voted through a plan to publish a national nomination schedule for all electoral districts — a tweak to prevent the party from calling meetings unexpectedly to benefit one particular candidate.

The constitutional changes come after Poilievre himself said Friday that "elections teach us lessons."

"Like, for example, the need to hold earlier and open nominations, to have more local autonomy to empower our local riding associations. They’re the backbone of our organization."

These amendments come after accusations from some members that national party officials were usurping the will of local Conservative electoral district associations (EDAs) and parachuting in candidates to some ridings. This sort of top-down approach led to considerable friction.

She claimed the party tried to "sway the vote" for another candidate — the eventual winner in the last general election, Costas Menegakis — because it allegedly gave him the membership list before her. The party denied the accusation at the time.

In addition, in the Ontario riding of Milton, the appointment of former provincial cabinet minister Parm Gill as a candidate was strongly criticized by the local EDA as "unfair and undemocratic" because it bypassed the local nomination process.

And in another Ontario riding, Oxford, local Conservatives accused the national party leadership of favouring Arpan Khanna, who at the time did not live in the riding, for the nomination. The area's former MP, Dave MacKenzie, said officials were manipulating the nomination process to secure a win for Khanna, a close Poilievre ally and a former co-chair of his leadership campaign.

Senior reporter

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