Since I've been writing about the leadership contest of Canada's Conservative Party, I feel somewhat obligated to report on the final result, even though it ended on a rather dull note. So I'll keep it brief. On Saturday, Andrew Scheer defeated Maxime Bernier 51-49 percent on the thirteenth ballot. Scheer, who has been described as (former Prime Minister) "Stephen Harper with a smile”, is most notably a social conservative who would likely govern in much the same way as Harper did, although perhaps minus some of the nastiness. That is, however, only if Scheer ever becomes Prime Minister. Odds are he won't.
In a contest where the favourites at different points had ranged from scary, to whacky, to cold and heartless; the party ended up choosing a bland, unremarkable Member of Parliament from Saskatchewan, who represents a continuation of the policies that resulted in the previous government being voted out of power. It was a safe choice, and will probably not have the disastrous consequences for the party that some other possible choices would have. But neither is Scheer likely to inspire Canadians to vote for his party over a Liberal Party that is lead by the still fairly popular Justin Trudeau.