Pubdate: Mon, 10 Feb 2014
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Authors: Bruce Campion-Smith and Susan Delacourt

TORIES HATCH PLAN TO BLITZ TRUDEAU AT LIBERAL CONVENTION

Liberal Leader 'In Over His Head, Has Poor Judgment, Only Interested 
in Legalizing Marijuana,' Tory Note Says

OTTAWA- Stephen Harper's Conservatives are planning to target Justin 
Trudeau at the upcoming Liberal convention with a carefully 
orchestrated campaign to disrupt Liberal communications, highlight 
disunity in the ranks and question his leadership abilities.

The game plan, laid in out Conservative party documents obtained by 
the Star, spells out the objective in three words: "drive, disrupt, disunity."

The six-page note says the Conservatives' goal is to "drive our 
narrative," which it lays out: "Trudeau in over his head, has poor 
judgment, only interested in legalizing marijuana VS. PM's strong, 
stable leadership, focused on what matters most to Canadians."

The note even muses about "more gimmicky ideas." These ideas include 
distributing ZigZag rolling papers screened with Trudeau's face and 
the Liberal logo to put a focus on the Liberal leader's comments 
about the legalization of marijuana.

In an email to the Star on Sunday, Dimitri Soudas, the executive 
director of the Conservative Party of Canada, did not deny the 
existence of the strategy note and indeed repeated the very messaging 
the Conservatives hope to deliver at the Liberal convention. 
"Canadians will face a clear choice in the next election between 
Justin Trudeau's poor judgement, lack of experience and bad plan on 
the economy and Prime Minister Harper's strong, stable leadership and 
low tax plan for jobs and economic growth for Canadian families," Soudas said.

The party says it wants a "Conservative voice" in all stories that 
come out of the Liberal convention, "while ensuring a consistent 
contrast between the Liberal leader's poor judgment and the strong 
stable leadership of the Prime Minister."

The Conservatives will also be seeking to put the spotlight on any 
contentious policies that may be debated at the Liberal convention, 
being held in Montreal starting Feb. 20. That will put the Liberals 
"on their heels and forced to defend themselves. If they're 
explaining, they're losing," the note says.

The Conservatives are also seeking to exploit cracks in the Liberal 
party "that are opening up again."

As proof, the document cites Trudeau's early departure from a recent 
tribute dinner for former prime minister Jean Chretien, along with 
Trudeau's own decision to oust Liberal senators from the party 
caucus. "Opportunity exists to fan the flames of Liberal infighting," 
the note says. To ensure that message gets out, the Tories plan a 
concerted communications strategy using dedicated websites, online 
ads, online videos, daily email updates to the Conservative 
supporters and social media, using "pre-canned" messages. "We can 
also use the opportunity to build an 'anti-Trudeau' supporters' list.

Encourage people to sign up to hear the real truths behind Trudeau 
and why he's in over his head," the note says. The note makes clear 
that the Conservatives see Trudeau's position on marijuana as a wedge 
issue they hope to exploit. "There is an opportunity to keep the 
focus on this poor policy decision. Research shows that full 
legalization is not popular," the note says. The Conservatives say 
one possibility is to have Justice Minister Peter MacKay hold a news 
conference to restate the government's opposition to legalization. 
"This could at least set the table for further driving of our 
anti-legalization message throughout the weekend," the note said. The 
Conservatives have a history of trying to disrupt Liberal 
conventions, most notably at the 2006 leadership, when senior PMO 
staff were in attendance and Soudas was handing out buttons mocking 
various candidates. The document states that the Conservatives will 
be trying to whip up divisions between Trudeau and former prime! 
minister Jean Chretien. This is apparently based on Soudas' 
observations at the Chretien dinner.

Soudas, who was at the event with his partner, MP Eve Adams, posted 
on Twitter that night: "Everybody stayed to listen to Jean Chretien's 
great speech tonight except 1 person with initials #JT." (Liberals 
say Trudeau left the event early because he had an early morning 
flight to catch the following day.)

With the Liberals up in the polls, the strategy note suggests that 
the Conservatives see Trudeau rather than NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair 
as their real foe in 2015, when the next federal election is expected.

Indeed, a separate Powerpoint presentation to the Conservatives' 
national council says the party's goal is to "ensure we don't wake up 
on October 20, 2015 with Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom