Event Blogging The conservative movement at a crossroads: Where Canada's Conservatives have Been, are Now, and Should Go.

Please Note: This is a summary of the events and speeches in my own words for educational, information, and entertainment purposes only. It is not the speakers' exact words and should not be taken as such. It also may contain errors due to the nature of the medium. I am not responsible for any of them, use at your own risk.

Gerry Nicholls
Former Senior Executive with the National Citizens Coalition and publisher of LibertasPost.ca

Where Canada's conservatives have been, are now, and should go.

When he started working for the NCC in the (70s?) they didn't have much money and were only a small group but there were thousands of people across Canada who supported them. They came from across the conservative political spectrum. They knew there was right and wrong; and Trudeau, communism, and big government was wrong.

They were part of a much larger conservative movement and they had their heroes like Thatcher and Reagan who inspired them, that they shouldn't compromise but stand on their grounds. They had some victories, Mike Harris, Stephen Harper, even the Liberals keeping a balanced budget. They like to think that the NCC had a role in that.

They also played a role in propelling Harper to his position. He was the President of the NCC and was a true blue, small c, conservatives who believed that we needed true conservatives and that we shouldn't act like liberals. However it hasn't worked out like that, in fact he has governed like a liberal.

This has divided the conservatives into 3 groups. The Harperites who support Harper in everything and think whatever he does is good. Power is more important than principle. You may not criticize Harper.

Then there are the Hoperites who hope that with a majority Harper will turn around and show his true conservative culture. They are motivated by hope and fear of the liberals. They don't want to rock the boat.

Then there are the Helplicites. They are disillusioned and cynical about it all. They think there is now no hope. If Harper couldn't stay conservatives then no one can. They think he has sold out and will never change. They have given up.

25 years ago they were united and it was about principle. Today we are cautious, divided, and it is about partisanship.

For your average person what Harper does is what conservatives believe, big spending, big government.

This is bad for conservatives, Conservatives, and the country.

We need to press the reset button on the movement. Stop worrying so much about partisanship and focus on winning the war of ideas. Win converts among people, especially young people. Convince people that we are right.

There are organizations out there, many of them. He would encourage people to support such organizations.

How do we convince people of all theses ideas? Don't have enough time but it is all in his book.