Obituary: Andrew Scheer’s Political Career Ends in Failure

Justin Trudeau should have been easy to beat. With a plethora of scandals, including the SNC Lavalin affair and the now infamous blackface photo—Trudeau could have easily been ejected from his seat by the Conservatives, whose provincial equivalents have won a great many elections during Trudeau’s premiership. But in order to do that, the Conservatives would have needed somebody else than Andrew Scheer. According to multiple media reports, the Conservatives have quickly realized that, and many members of the party would prefer were Scheer to return home to Regina.  

Le Devoir’s Christian Rioux rightly called Scheer “the least charismatic political leader in history.” Listening to him was as exciting as listening to background music. He did not speak French very well and it is unclear if he has ever cracked a joke in his life. His speeches were very weak both in content and delivery. 

Scheer is also not particularly cultured—although he was reported to have “an encyclopaedical knowledge of Simpsons references”—and it took him 10 years before completing a bachelor’s degree. He was elected at parliament at age 25 and before that “he never held a real job,” as wrote Lysianne Gagnon in La Presse. He did claim to have been a certified insurance salesman, but this was false, and even if it had been true, it would have been poor preparation for the highest office in the country. 

In 2017, the National Post, a right-leaning newspaper, published an article titled “Andrew Scheer’s Sex Appeal.” This quest for his sex appeal started with ambitious accolades about his height (“Andrew Scheer is a giant”) but ended by saying that “most of us are not good looking” and that “maybe nobody is going to care about sex appeal in a few years.” A staunch Catholic who attends mass every Sunday, he has ties to extremist Christian groups and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.  

Never in his 11 years in parliament prior to becoming Conservative leader did Scheer hold a ministry position—Stephen Harper did not even choose him to become minister of sports, agriculture or fisheries. It is true that he was Speaker of the House, but in Canada this job is neither very prestigious nor challenging—the governing party usually sends one of its lightweights to do the job and keeps its strongest members for cabinet. On October 10th—almost two weeks before the election—the Globe and Mail even reported that Conservative grandees were already plotting his dismissal in order to bring in Peter Mackay.  

Electing anti-heroes seems to be a favorite of Canadian Conservatives these days. Ontario Premier Doug Ford gained exposure as the brother of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who himself became world-famous for being a crack cocaine enthusiast and “dressing like a magician,” like Jimmy Kimmel once put it. Ford, like his Alberta counterpart Jason Kenney, does not hold a university degree. Rob’s death was particularly contentious, as multiple family members began to sue each other in order to get their hands on the inheritance.  

Meanwhile, the premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe, used to be a farmer in a 1,500-person village but became a businessman – and eventually declared bankruptcy. In 1997, he caused the death of someone in a car accident but later claimed he could not remember the event happening.  

With opponents like Justin Trudeau and the very charismatic Jagmeet Singh, the Conservatives will need different leadership if they want to attain power. While strong ideas are at the heart of politics, many voters make decisions based on a quick video clip or sound bite, especially in this age of social media and YouTube. 

Andrew Scheer may be a nice and well-meaning person, but having him represent Canada in highly significant meetings, like at the G7, would have raised questions abroad as to whether Canada can produce great leaders.