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# Canadian Conservatives | Three Big Fixes
- URL: https://www.craftpolitics.fm/episodes/canadian-conservatives-three-big-fixes/
- Published: 2025-10-16T18:02:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-07T20:47:53.000Z
- Author: Joseph Lavoie
- Tags: Dan Robertson, Former Director of Strategic Communicatins to Stephen Harper, Holly Mumby-Croft, #episode, #interview, #ai-4

This week, Holly and I are joined by one of my mentors, long-time conservative strategist **Dan Robertson**, who has an unconventional set of ideas: **Canada’s Conservative Party can’t out-campaign a system rigged against it**.

Dan’s solution? Structural reform. [He outlines ](https://thehub.ca/2025/09/25/dan-robertson-three-ways-the-conservative-party-of-canada-can-win-again/?ref=craftpolitics.fm)[**three controversial but compelling ideas**](https://thehub.ca/2025/09/25/dan-robertson-three-ways-the-conservative-party-of-canada-can-win-again/?ref=craftpolitics.fm) to level the playing field—and maybe even turn the Tories into a true national contender again.

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### **What We Cover:**

**1\. Proportional Representation**

- Why the “first past the post” system doesn’t actually benefit conservatives
- How PR could eliminate the Liberals’ advantage in voter efficiency
- And why Canada’s system keeps millions of centre-right votes from counting at all

> “I love to see conservatives champion competition everywhere—except in politics. It makes no sense.”

**2\. Mandatory Voting**

- Why the right **underperforms** in low-turnout elections
- A civic case for participation as a duty of citizenship
- And what Australia can teach Canada about centre-right success in a compulsory voting system

> “This is the bare minimum of civic service. If we believe in responsibility, this is a no-brainer.”

**3\. A New Strategy for Quebec**

- Dan proposes the unthinkable: **Fold the federal Conservative brand in Quebec**
- Instead, back a CAQ-style provincial-federal hybrid party
- And model a new electoral coalition—just like the CDU–CSU in Germany

> “In Quebec, we’re foreigners. It’s not ideological. It’s tribal. We need to rethink everything.”

🎧 Plus:

- Could these reforms actually help turnout?
- Why voter apathy might be structural, not cultural
- And how to build a cross-partisan case for political reform, even on the right

00:00 Welcome and introducing Dan Robertson — Harper PMO veteran on conservative structural problems  
01:35 The controversial case for proportional representation — Why first-past-the-post hurts conservatives  
03:32 The 2021 campaign and the myth of conservative voter efficiency  
04:42 Three structural problems — Voter efficiency, party identification, and strategic voting  
07:31 Mandatory voting — The most controversial proposal and the case for civic duty  
09:43 Pack up and leave Quebec — Creating space for a CAQ-style federal alternative  
12:10 The playing field is rigged — Why strategic changes aren't enough  
13:23 Can this happen without a referendum? The political reality check  
15:15 Conservatives and change — Overcoming the psychological barrier to reform  
16:17 Pushback on instability and the progressive coalition myth  
17:34 Every vote counts — Why PR empowers all types of conservatives  
19:56 If you could only pick one — PR over mandatory voting  
21:12 The Quebec fiefdom problem and why stepping back could work now  
22:13 Voter disillusionment and the renewal promise of PR  
23:10 Hundreds of thousands of wasted conservative votes — Time for provocative change