Peter MacKay Quotes (39 Quotes)


    My ambitions are to continue to support Stephen Harper and the Conservative party and see that he becomes the next prime minister of Canada and that our party forms government in the next election,

    It's not as if our party has a leadership campaign underway.

    There's a very small window of opportunity and I think the government is going to take that opportunity away by ensuring that we don't have anything that would possibly trigger a vote of confidence or could be construed as such.

    We have to stress our conservative credentials and emphasize that we are the natural, national alternative to the Liberals. Clearly the Alliance has shown it can't break out of its Western box. The Alliance is at single-digit support in three quarters of the country.

    If the United States leads a multinational force into Iraq without United Nations backing, Canada should fight beside its neighbour. We've gone from being a middle power to a muddle power on this one.


    I hear your pies bring good luck. David Sweet said I must stop by on my way through the area.

    I would never make a decision like this without speaking to Mr. Harper and others, and I would certainly have that discussion with the leader.

    There needs to be a balance between privacy rights and security issues. The government wants more ability to cover up its own activities but expand their ability to intrude into the lives of Canadians. It is perverse logic and a double standard.

    Before the government moves ahead with this legislation, Parliament needs to ensure that any new surveillance powers are complemented with adequate judicial oversight,

    What Canada has to do is to have a government connected to the priorities of the people of which it is elected to serve. Those priorities include ensuring medicare is sustainable, support for the military, and tax and justice systems that work.

    Nova Scotia is my home and I have a great deal of affection for my province but having said that, I made the decision some time ago to enter federal politics,

    The government continues with this simultaneous face-saving, rear-end-covering exercise of trying to justify a very cumbersome, useless system.

    We have a good professional working relationship. This (tension) has been exaggerated, ... This is nothing like the tensions that went on between Martin and Chretien where (Martin) was undermining him for years and engaged in a bloodless coup in his own province.

    As far as the decorum in the House, and how they're going to stay in power -- well, they'll buy parties,

    I don't think it bodes well for the Liberal Party . . . that nobody wants to step up to the plate. And now, with almost all of what I would describe as tier-one Liberal leadership candidates taking themselves out of the running, they are going to be left, really, with a void in this leadership campaign.

    I don't think anyone can accuse me of having put my interests ahead of the party's or the country's. I simply felt this was the right thing to do.

    We have to be focused on growing the party and getting young people to see us as a viable option.

    Minority means we have to be constructive, and we have to be working together and finding common ground.

    I guess my natural inclination is to finish what I started. We have a Conservative government in Nova Scotia. What I want to see is a Conservative government in Ottawa.

    He wanted to continue the work he was able to begin under a Liberal government. And he felt the best way for him to serve his constituents and get results and to focus on a file that is of huge importance to Canada -- namely softwood lumber -- that by being the Trade Minister he might just be able to make that breakthrough that will undoubtedly bring huge benefits back to Canada.

    I am a competitive person, and I didn't win the leadership of the PC party with a mind to stepping down so soon afterwards. But no regrets.

    They'll sign deals with the NDP. They'll buy members of Parliament. They'll make appointments. These are the things that caused the Parliament to descend into the type of acrimony we saw in the last session.

    Although NDP Leader Jack Layton hopes that there will not be a Christmas election, ... are not ruling anything out.

    But we'll be a couple points ahead when we get to an election,

    This is strategic, I think and it's all about clinging to power. It's all about keeping their strategic options open as opposed to running the country in a prudent fashion.

    It's a clear signal that I'll be staying in federal politics supporting a man who I consider to be very honest and intelligent,

    My gut tells me and continues to tell me that the Conservative party is on a road back to government.

    I consider myself to be a Main Street, mainstream Conservative, and I think there are a lot of Canadians who place themselves there.

    The people who are involved in these type of shootings are not the type of individuals who are going to adhere to a gun ban or ever register a gun, period. The Liberal party has proven time and time again that they're more concerned with the optics than the practicalities of these issues.

    We know that there is an undeniable and unstoppable sentiment for change in the country. A change towards a new, clean, constructive attitude that will exist within a Conservative government.

    I would say they've got their foot on the gas and they are about to head off a cliff because they are not willing to talk, they are not willing to compromise.

    P.E.I. is one of the leaders in environmental practices as 75 per cent of commercial farms on the Island already have an environmental farm plan in place.

    There could be an election this fall. So the last thing I want to do is lead to instability or speculation about my commitment to the party.

    He's doing very well and the more Canadians know of him the more they know that he's an honest, dedicated man ... and I like our chances, ... Stephen is somebody who I have a great deal of respect for.

    I learned a long time ago that you never say 'never', but this is all about timing and it's all about the commitment that I've given to the party and to the leader and to my constituents,

    It's political blame, that's what is important here. Canadians will get their ultimate say and they will be the ones who will render a final judgment on Mr. Martin and the Liberal party. There's no separating the two.

    I want to lead the Progressive Conservative Party, a party that will promote true conservative values and principles. I can tell you right now, I am not the merger candidate. I am not interested in institutional marriages with other parties.

    I do not foresee Canada having a more active military presence ... in Iraq.

    I believe I can be the person who can bring together conservatives across this country in a spirit of cooperation so that we can once again form government. This is not an agreement for merger with other political parties. Merger is a mathematical equation which does not guarantee victory.


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