“We've got a weak leader”: Albertans tell us what they think about CPC leader Erin O'Toole

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With threats of an election looming over Canadians, we must come to terms with a troubling new political reality: brand recognition matters as much, if not more, to many Canadians as policy. Mr. Style-Over-Substance himself, Justin Trudeau, has capitalized on this trend repeatedly. The question is, can Erin O’Toole compete in a world of Insta-politics?

One of the major criticisms of the current iteration of the Conservative Party of Canada is that it lacks character (some might say spine). Many have suggested that both Erin O’Toole and his predecessor, Andrew Scheer, are milquetoast politicians at best, and that the PCs have lost their way due to a lack of strong leadership.

Another common criticism of O’Toole, and Scheer before him, is that they are… well… boring. In a world where the votes of many are (unfortunately) won or lost based on social media clout and emotion, it is difficult to argue that the last two Conservative leaders have been cut out to trend on social media or to rile the passions of Canadians.

We wanted to see just how popular Erin O’Toole is, so we took to the heart of Calgary, a city where O’Toole is likely to have the most supporters, to see what people think of him, or perhaps more pertinently, if people even know who he is.