Canada Tory Leader Erin O'Toole Takes A Page From Rival Trudeau

Ottawa, Sept 16 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Sep, 2021 ) :Erin O'Toole struggled to make himself known since becoming the leader of Canada's Conservative party during the pandemic, but a makeover that took cues from heartthrob prime minister Justin Trudeau has Canadians chirping.

At his election campaign kickoff, O'Toole described himself to a small crowd of supporters and journalists as "a new leader with a new style." He looked trim, beaming from ear to ear. He'd traded in his blue blazer and button shirt for a tight black t-shirt on the cover of the party's platform book, which resembled more a glossy fashion magazine than a campaign mailer.

On the campaign trail, he wore sneakers.

O'Toole, at 48, is one year younger than his main political rival Justin Trudeau, but his white hair, receding hairline and plump cheeks made him look older.

His new look contrasts sharply with his predecessors at the helm of the Tory party -- prickly policy wonks in bespoke suits who rarely smiled in public.

Pundits commended O'Toole on the changeup, suggesting he'd borrowed golden boy Trudeau's "sunny ways" -- a catchphrase popularized in the 2015 campaign to describe a positive and hopeful vision for Canada.

It's reflected in public opinion polls, with Tories in a virtual tie with Trudeau's Liberals ahead of the September 20 vote.

With no galvanizing ballot box issues in this election, if personality becomes the determining factor, O'Toole's new style "will help him win voters," said University of Alberta politics professor Frederic Boily.

He noted that O'Toole's predecessor Andrew Scheer in the 2019 ballot had attempted a style change too, but failed to gain traction because it wasn't backed by fresh policies.

"O'Toole has presented a more compassionate conservatism both in his platform, but also in himself," Boily said.

Born in Montreal, O'Toole grew up in Bowmanville, where his father took a job at General Motors, east of Toronto.

His mother Mollie died of breast cancer when he was only nine years old and after his father remarried, he became the eldest of five children in the blended family.

Unlike Trudeau, O'Toole is not the son of a former prime minister, but his father John -- whom he credits for inspiring his dedication to public service -- was elected five times to the Ontario legislature.

"I expected he'd go into politics," his hometown friend Ihor Kozak told AFP, citing O'Toole's longtime community involvement and door knocking for candidates in past elections.

At 18, O'Toole joined the Canadian air force, and became a tactical navigator on military search and rescue helicopters.

Later, he worked as a corporate lawyer before jumping into politics, winning a seat in parliament in a 2012 by-election and re-election in 2015 and 2019, representing a mostly white, Protestant, English-speaking electoral district east of Toronto.