Gone, at least for now, are the "wave" metaphors, the "West wants in" slogans, and the "political realignment" models that Reform Party of Canada leader Preston Manning and his advisers and strategists used to build the RPC from a mere idea into Canada's official opposition in just over a decade. The sometimes poetic, usually regional and occasionally thoughtful rhetoric that set the party apart from its competitors in the early days is evolving into unmemorable mainstream political catch-phrases. But as goes the party, so goes the propaganda. The core constituencies of the party's infancy—alienated western Tories, free-thinking prairie and mountain rednecks, West Coast right-wingers and religious traditionalists—have been joined by conservative ethnics, young libertarians and democratic populists, still mostly from the West but increasingly from Ontario and points East.

The old and new constituencies, represented by 993 voting delegates from across the country, came together for the party's biennial convention in London, Ont., two weeks ago. The veterans, though devoted to the core principles of Reform, arrived in an impatient mood. Their initial idealism has been tempered by 10 years in the trenches, and though the party has enjoyed remarkable electoral success in a relatively short time, they have been frustrated by Reform's inability to grow beyond 20% popular support nationally and by its failure to achieve a breakthrough in Ontario. The newcomers, meanwhile, are less devoted to core principles, but no less determined to achieve power in Ottawa.

Thus the audience was ripe for what Mr. Manning had in mind. He had given the party ample warning that he would be seeking an endorsement for his "United Alternative" campaign—an attempt to broaden the membership and appeal of Reform to include disaffected supporters of all other federal parties. He knew that half the delegates, for whom power matters more than principle, would instinctively support the gambit. But the other half, the old-timers who scrutinize every letter of every policy resolution for any hint of dilution or compromise, would not be so easily persuaded. In the end, however, they were won over by a superbly crafted speech from Mr. Manning that combined seductive promises of power with persuasive reassurances that principles would not be sacrificed.

There were times, especially early in the assembly, when it seemed the famously independent-minded Reform membership was going to scuttle the ambitions of the party brass. A proposed amendment to the RPC constitution that would have reduced the party's executive council from 34 members to 16, for instance, was killed by the delegates because they suspected the executive was trying to concentrate power at the top, in defiance of the party's cherished "bottom up" philosophy of governance.

Delegates also rejected three different options for expanding into provincial politics. Given the choice of forming political parties, forging formal alliances with provincial parties or allowing other parties to use the Reform name, delegates voted to continue to focus on the federal arena.

The executive got its way on a proposal to extend the party's sunset clause (which would disband the RPC at a prearranged date) from 2000 to 2007, and Mr. Manning's leadership was endorsed by an overwhelming majority—81%—of the delegates. Still, it is clear there is a small but growing bloc in the party that either thinks he is unelectable as prime minister or doubts his dedication to Reform principles. That group has grown from just 8% of the delegates at the 1994 assembly to 19% in London.

Overall, however, the leadership must have been happy with the assembly. The set-backs were minor compared to the gains, particularly the endorsement of the United Alternative strategy. It was risky even to propose it, but as he has done so many times before, Mr. Manning convinced his party to take a high-stakes gamble and trust him to pull it off. "If we were afraid of risk, we would never have dared to create the Reform Party in the first place," he said in his keynote speech. "Reformers are risk-takers by definition and we must continue to be so if our intent is to become a government party, to reform the federation and rekindle the Canadian dream...I am asking you to consider a bold new political strategy."

By way of reassurance, Mr. Manning first listed all the things the United Alternative is not. It is not a merger with the Tories or simply a unite-the-right effort, he said, nor would it lead to abandonment of the party's name, leadership or policies. He took great pains to explain that the party's four key principles, fiscal responsibility, social responsibility, democratic accountability and reformed federalism, were not up for grabs. "The United Alternative option is in no way, shape or form an abandonment of any principle that Reformers hold dear," he said.

Then the leader described what the United Alternative is. "I should make it clear there are two things that I want from this United Alternative effort," he declared. "I want us to form a government together and, with your support, I want to lead that government." He explained that the campaign is targeted specifically at provincial Progressive Conservatives in Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta, the new Saskatchewan Party, federal New Democrats and provincial Liberals in B.C., and even soft separatists in Quebec and miscellaneous voters in Atlantic Canada who are "fed up with economic stagnation and the old politics."

The formal proposal put in front of the delegates described the goal of the campaign as well as its mechanics. The crucial element is a United Alternative assembly, to be held early next year, that will bring together representatives of the targeted constituencies to "discuss the platform and political actions to elect a majority of MPs who are committed to fiscal responsibility, social responsibility, democratic accountability, and a strengthened federation characterized by equality and rebalanced powers." The proposal also promises that the Reform membership will get a vote on any proposals that come out of the United Alternative meeting.

Even before the leader's speech there were signals indicating the motion would fare well. A political workshop attended by about 100 people on the opening day of the assembly focused on the political tactics supporting the existing United Alternative campaign, which has been underway informally for several months. The session was led by Calgary Reform MP Jason Kenney and Ontario organizer Nancy Branscombe, the two primary organizers. Their efforts have been concentrated almost entirely in vote-rich Ontario, where they have been trying to forge alliances with members of the provincial Conservative Party.

At the workshop a number of Reformers expressed support for the program. Some Ontarians claimed membership in their ridings had increased by a half to two-thirds, mainly as a result of the United Alternative efforts. Of almost 20 delegates who spoke at the workshop, only half a dozen expressed any concern about the plan at all, and only two or three voiced outright opposition.

A resounding 92% of the delegates voted to approve the UA assembly (846 to 80), with an overwhelming 97% of the 372 delegates from Ontario backing the plan. In the West, however, there was less enthusiasm; almost a third of Saskatchewan's delegates voted against the move.

Delegates responded to the results with enthusiastic applause. "It's great, really great," exclaimed Ontario delegate Nabil El-Khazen. "We are delighted, we actually hugged each other, especially when we saw the results from Alberta [about 90% in favour]. As you know some of them [westerners] were sceptical but we said look at our results in Ontario where the present provincial government is the united right, plus other groups that joined very close to the Reform ideal—and it has worked; we won without compromising our principles."

The RPC's opponents naturally hastened to ridicule the plan. "Uniting the right may be the priority of Reform, but uniting Canadians has always been our priority," said Prime Minister Jean Chretien in a June 1 speech at a Liberal fund-raiser in Calgary. "Reform is very good in opposition and they have a great future there."

Ontario's lone Tory MP Jim Jones attended the Reform assembly and was suitably unimpressed. "All I saw behind the alternative was two things: one, that Mr. Manning has come to the realization that the Reform Party in its current state is not going to ever form a government. And number two, it was a way of selling memberships for the Reform Party," he says. Mr. Jones adds that if Mr. Manning is really serious about a united alternative he should chose another vehicle. "He should come and run for our leadership and resolve this thing once and for all."

Indeed, one of the most common outside criticisms of the United Alternative campaign was that if Reform would not change its principles, and hoped to keep its leader, name and policies, it was really little more than a recruitment drive. To which Mr. Manning confidently replied, "Wait and see. We think it will be much more than that."

Some of the groups Reform are targeting seem to be ready to listen to that message already. Martin Brown, special adviser to B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell, was at the assembly and indicated there is common ground where his party might be able to work with the federal Reformers. Alberta Tory Treasurer Stockwell Day, an open Reform supporter, gave a witty, thoughtful speech that wowed the crowd and the media, prompting speculation that he may harbour national political ambitions. Several delegates from Saskatchewan made public their support for the new Saskatchewan Party, and Ontario PC operatives were abundant. Ontario Transport Minister Tony Clement, for example, whose name has been touted as a possible leader of the federal Tories, also addressed the assembly. A few days later a group of influential federal PCs in Ontario planted a story in the Southam newspapers indicating that they favour cooperation with Reform, up to and including a working coalition.

Meanwhile, Reform's unity critic Rahim Jaffer has taken the pitch to Quebeckers. The Edmonton MP set up two town hall meetings last week with Bloc Quebecois MP Pierre Brien to debate national unity, one in Quebec City and one in bilingual Edmonton. Mr. Jaffer points out that the meetings were set up before the assembly and are not formally part of the United Alternative efforts, but it is clearly an attempt to enhance Reform's profile in Quebec. It is also, however, an indirect attempt to woo Ontario, where the party is widely perceived as rabidly anti-French, and it is therefore important for the RPC to demonstrate that it can and wants to speak to Quebeckers.

Speaking in Edmonton before a crowd of almost 150, Mr. Jaffer repeated the Reform themes of rebalancing federal-provincial powers and democratic reforms, suggesting that these offered the best hope for giving the Quebec people the autonomy they want while keeping them in Canada. When asked if there is any support for this position in Quebec, however, Mr. Brien slammed the door. "You have to start from the position that we are two people negotiating [eventual separation], and this does not even mention that fact," he says, "so no, there is little support for their option. And before their ideas will ever be taken seriously, Reform will need to show Quebeckers they are a credible candidate for government. Otherwise it is nothing more than interesting thoughts."

Hobnobbing with separatists would have been unthinkable for Reformers as recently as three or four years ago, and the absence of a backlash among the membership is indicative of just how flexible and hungry the party has become in pursuit of power. Still, compromise has its limits, and the membership will be watching closely to see that the leadership does nothing to corrupt the four cornerstones of Reform policy laid out by Mr. Manning. As one Alberta delegate at the London assembly noted, "If they compromise on those principles, we'll make the anger directed against Mulroney look like a Sunday picnic."

Each of the four principles is dear to Reformers, but their vagueness allows them to mean different things to different members. The commitment to "social responsibility," for instance, is aimed at the party's socially conservative, pro-family, Christian constituency, but it is not backed by an explicit commitment to socially conservative policies such as opposition to gay rights and abortion. Mr. Manning defines social responsibility as "stronger, more focused government commitment to strengthening the family and protecting the life and property of citizens."

"While there is no pressure from social conservatives to drop fiscal accountability," observes conservative journalist Michael Coren, "the party is facing pressure from the neoconservatives to drop social issues." Recalling how dodgy Mr. Manning has been when issues like gay rights have flared up in his party in the past, Mr. Coren says it is unlikely that Reform will make "social responsibility" a prominent part of its United Alternative campaign. "They worry that issues of family, morality and sexuality are electoral losers," he says, but adds that the consequences of compromise in this area could be dire. "The whole point with the party has always been that Reform is different," he says. "If Preston Manning sells out on this one they can't say they are different any more."

The delegates sent the party leadership a number of messages during debates over "family-friendly" policy resolutions. The strongest calls for Reformers to put all "relevant" legislation through "family impact assessments" before deciding to support it. Over three-quarters of the delegates endorsed the motion.

The party's dedication to fiscal conservatism is presumably beyond negotiation, notwithstanding its recent enthusiasm for mass pay-outs to victim's groups like hepatitis-C sufferers, and its repeated calls for Ottawa to vastly increase health, education and welfare transfers to the provinces. But as Fraser Institute Senior Fellow in Canadian Studies Gordon Gibson pointed out in a Globe and Mail column last week, the Liberals have usurped fiscal rectitude from Reform by balancing the budget. Lately federal Finance Minister Paul Martin has been musing about cutting taxes and attacking the $600-billion federal debt, signalling that he intends to continue to pursue a more or less conservative fiscal agenda as he positions himself for an expected bid for the Grit leadership. Thus Reform will be hard-pressed to make fiscal issues a centrepiece of its United Alternative campaign.

That leaves only two principles on which Reform can try to expand its support: democratic reform and rebalancing of federal-provincial powers. It is the latter, in particular, that holds much promise in the minds of many Reformers. "We feel there is strong support for this third option in Quebec, that given the option of more provincial power within the federation we can make some real headway," says Mr. Jaffer, "and other Canadians, equally dissatisfied with the status quo, are also attracted to changes along these lines."

The specific policy measures that would be needed to flesh out the principles of democratic accountability and rebalancing are spelled out in the party's New Canada Act released last month. The act was meant to be a compendium of Reform policies in these areas, and was seen by many commentators as part of an effort by Reform to show supporters that the pary still adheres to the principles it was founded on.

Reform's pollster, Andre Turcott, says the party stands to gain the most from democratic reforms. "Reform stands alone in talking about consulting with the people on major policy decisions," he says, "and we've found there is a lot of support for that position. We will also be able to present other issues through this lens, in the perspective that we have consulted with the people and we are the only party presenting their views on any given issue."

But University of Calgary political science professor and former Reform policy advisor Tom Flanagan predicts that in practice, none of these principles will be used to swell the party. "The United Alternative is labelled as an appeal for support in any direction, but in reality the target will be mainly the big group of people who are already attracted to the kind of conservatism the Reformers offer, but for one reason or another are still uncertain," he says. "The biggest part of Reform's efforts will be a communications program where they try to dissolve those stigmas that are keeping people from the party—like image or stereotypes or others—but make no mistake, that is still enough people that it could make the campaign a successful one."

—Brian Mulawka

BC Report is available at your favorite newsstand,
or save up to 43% with a subscription