BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK - Peace River-Westlock MP Arnold Viersen is hoping history repeats itself.
In November 2016, during a Meet-the-MP constituency fundraiser and membership in Barrhead, Viersen officially threw his support behind then Conservative Party of Canada leadership hopeful Andrew Scheer.
Scheer would go on to win the leadership race by edging out Maxime Bernier in a crowded, tightly contested vote the following spring.
In this go-around, Viersen said he is supporting Leslyn Lewis, who is making her second bid at the leadership, finished third behind Peter McKay and winner Erin O'Toole in the 2020 leadership contest.
Viersen announced his endorsement of Lewis April 23, a day before returning to Ottawa for four days of debate the 2022 budget.
"I think she has what it takes to lead this country," he said in an April 25 interview.
He added that when Lewis first ran for the leadership, she was a relative political newcomer.
"She stuck with it and became a Member of Parliament," he said. "(Lewis) also brings her non-political background to the table. She runs her own law firm (Lewis Law) and is the mother of four kids. I think these things will put her in good stead when it comes to running the country."
And although Viersen did not officially endorse a candidate or make public who he voted for during the last leadership campaign, he was happy with the result, stating O'Toole demonstrated that he was a "strong capable leader.”
He also said Lewis and fourth-place finisher Derek Sloan made a positive impression on him.
"I thought Leslyn Lewis would make a great leader and I felt Derek Sloan contributed greatly to the discussion Conservatives were having," Viersen told the Leader.
Lewis, who immigrated from Jamaica when she was five, is a lawyer by trade and was first elected in the 2021 federal election taking the Haldimand-Norfolk seat in southern Ontario for the CPC.
In 2015, Conservative leader Stephen Harper appointed her as a replacement candidate to run the riding of Scarborough-Rouge Park after the first candidate, Jerry Bance, withdrew after a scandal. She also served on the CPC's constituency association for the Markham-Stouffville riding.
Lewis Law specializes in commercial, real estate and immigration and energy or environmental law, helping companies sell green technology abroad. She also has four university degrees, including a Master of Environmental Studies from York University and a PhD from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Viersen also noted that he and Lewis share a lot of core values.
"I have watched her in the (House of Commons) advocating for the things I care about," he said. "Whether that is being pro-life, on the human trafficking file, opposing the carbon tax or firearms rights, and championing the rights of Albertans, I appreciate her bringing her weight and calibre to it."
Lewis has publicly stated that as the leader of a CPC government that she is committed to repealing the carbon tax. In the run-up to the last election, O'Toole, as part of the party's climate action plan, introduced an alternate version of the carbon tax. Lewis has also stated that as the leader of a CPC government that she would repeal both Bill C-48 and Bill 69.
Bill C-48 is the legislation that bans oil tanker traffic from a northern stretch of the B.C. coastline. Bill C-69 overhauled the federal environmental assessment process for major construction projects.
Viersen also touted Lewis as the only candidate that has a strong plan to fight the human trafficking of women and youth by holding traffickers and sex buyers accountable and ensuring survivors receive the support they need.
He also noted in a media release that Lewis believes that women in a crisis pregnancy should receive the healthcare they need.
"(She believes) pregnancy centres must be protected from political interference, and Canada should end the misogynistic practice of sex-selective abortion, which targets baby girls in the womb as undesirable," Viersen also stated in the release.
As a long-time critic of medical assistance in dying legislation (Bill C-7), Viersen likes Lewis' stance "on increasing the standard of care for the elderly and palliative patients as well as protecting all Canadians from the expansion of medically-assisted suicide."
However, he said, in addition to all the ideological similarities they share, he also likes a candidate that can win.
"And in Leslyn Lewis, we have that," Viersen said.
He also encouraged CPC members, whoever their choice is, to take part in the leadership selection vote, recommending that they fill out their ballots completely, as it is a ranked ballot.
Currently, eleven candidates are vying for the leadership. But according to the CPC website, only Lewis, Jean Charest, Pierre Poilievre, Patrick Brown and Roman Baber have met the party's criteria.
