Guest: Dan Robertson, former Conservative strategist & founder of ORB Advocacy

This week, Joseph and Holly are joined by 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. In a recent op-ed, he outlines three controversial but compelling ideas to level the playing field—and maybe even turn the Tories into a true national contender again.

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’d 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