No, I actually do need my cane to walk. One of the health complications I’ve had from cancer is a damaged spinal cord which means I don’t have full feeling in my legs. So, you’ll sometimes see me walking around with a cane, and for those who have seen me at past Conservative conventions, I occasionally hold onto a friend’s arm to help me walk through crowds.

I get this question often. No, my parents aren’t Francophones. I picked up, and then worked on my French, as an adult. And it’s a work in progress. But speaking French has opened my eyes, and it’s been very helpful in my business life, where I often work with Franco-Ontarian communities and stakeholders. It has also influenced me politically — communicating in French with Francophone Canadians over decades has reinforced my sincere belief that we need to do more to bring French Canadians back into the Conservative fold. I think selecting Pierre Poilievre as our Leader was a brilliant choice, and his French fluency helps us tremendously in growing our party in our French-Speaking EDAs across the country.

I have been impressed with how many indigenous Canadians are part of our movement. I meet many indigenous Canadian members as I attend EDA meetings across Ontario. My Metis heritage is an important part of who I am, but that’s not necessarily why I want to run. I just hope we elect the most competent people to our Party’s National Council, regardless of race, religion, or gender. I want our National Councillors to work hard, be accountable to the grassroots, and always be available to listen to our EDAs.

Look, I could talk to you about the importance of fiscal discipline, or foreign policy, or a host of public policy questions. But at the end of the day, I’m probably instinctually a conservative because of my belief in the importance of faith, family, and the rugged Canadian appetite for hard work, free enterprise, and individual freedom. Building a business, raising three children, deepening my faith when faced with life-threatening health issues — I mean these are things that’ll probably make you realize the simple things in life are what matter - and that those are things worth conserving and fighting for.

For several years, I have strongly condemned the Beijing dictatorship and have been shocked by the Trudeau Liberals allowing a foreign government to interfere in our elections. I wrote a strong condemnation of the Beijing dictatorship in an email to all the Ontario Delegates of the last CPC convention. At that time, I said that the Beijing’s persecution of Christian and Uighur minorities was “beyond the pale”. And I pledged to be the fiercest opponent of the “greatest spiritual and geopolitical threat to Canadian Western values: The Communist Party of China.”