August 2026 News
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Welcome
Welcome to the first edition of what we hope will become a bi-monthly newsletter, keeping you up to date on the activities of the Halifax Conservative Association.
Yes, it's been a while since we elected a Conservative MP in Halifax. However, this is the riding that elected Robert Borden (Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920), Robert Stanfield (leader of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1967 to 1976), and Stewart McInnes (who served as a Cabinet Minister under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1985 to 1988).
Beyond that, there's a strong Conservative movement in Nova Scotia, where the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia holds 43 seats (of a total of 56) in the Legislative Assembly.
We have work to do, but sending a Conservative MP to Ottawa is not impossible.
We're building a foundation
The Annual General Meeting was held at the Armdale Yacht Club on June 22, 2026, with about 17 people in attendance.
Rick Gibson, the President, recapped significant activities of the past year, including:
three events hosted jointly with the Dalhousie Conservative Club:
Blue Christmas, a pre-Christmas social event.
Housing in Halifax, a panel discussion focused on housing challenges in HRM, featuring MP Scott Aitchison, MLA Brendan McGuire, Councilor Laura White, and local developers and housing experts.
Jamil Jivani's Restore the North tour, a space for young men to express their problems and ideas.
sending four delegates (including two youth delegates) to the Conservative Party Convention in Calgary in January
a change in our web services partner, with a redesigned website, a new donations and events portal, and improved linkages to social media, and
changes to information technology supports at the National Party HQ.
Rachel Rae, our Financial Agent, summarized our current financial position. Suffice it to say that we ran a fully funded campaign in 2025 (thanks to our pre-writ fundraising and a little help from other ridings) and emerged with more money in the bank than we've had for years! We need to add to that!
A new Board of Directors was elected, including;
returning members Rick Gibson, Rachel Rae, Richard Clarke, Hayley Clarke, Marshall Smith, Richard Pougnet, Cameron Ells, and Mike Vandale,
our 2025 Candidate-of-Record, Mark Boudreau, and
new members Shawn Goudge and Carol Dobson.
A student member, River Fjeldsted, will be joining the Board when he commences his political science studies at Dalhousie this September.
Your leadership team
At a subsequent Board meeting, the following officers were elected:
Rick Gibson, President
Richard Clarke, Vice-President
Rachel Rae, Financial Agent
Cameron Ells, Secretary
Richard Pougnet, Executive Member
Carol Dobson, Executive Member
Changes
Congratulations to our 2025 candidate, Mark Boudreau, and his Campaign Manager, Nathan Ferguson, who have recently announced their new business partnership, Boudreau Ferguson Consulting. For more information, go to www.boudreaufergusonconsulting.ca.
Creating enthusiasm
On July 22, about 30 people attended our Blue Tent BBQ at the home of Marshall Smith. Despite the forecast calling for torrential rain all day, the weather turned out to be quite pleasant. The weather gods must lean conservative!
Provincial Attorney General and Minister of Justice Scott Armstrong was the guest speaker.
Scott provided a brief history of conservatism in Nova Scotia, outlined the points of agreement between the Progressive Conservative Party of NS and the Conservative Party of Canada, and offered some advice and encouragement as we prepare for the next federal election, whenever that may be.
Stay tuned as we plan more events over the coming year.
Getting to know the Conservative Party
Politics in Canada is a team sport. Even with their elbows up, one player can't win the day.
To that end, we want local Conservatives to meet the Conservative team. Earlier this year we've hosted events featuring federal MP's Scott Aitchison and Jamil Jivani.
On August 12, we hosted another event at the Lion's Head Pub, this time featuring Brad Redekopp, the MP for Saskatoon West and Associate Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Brad was in town promoting his private members ill seeking to reduce the regulatory costs imposed on homebuilding in Canada.
Brad spoke to a sold-out audience of about 30 people, including a large Iranian contingent, about immigration policy, emphasizing the need for:
a non-partisan, welcoming and well-managed immigration system,
fair, transparent and efficient immigration processes
compassionate measures to assist in family reunification
successfully encouraging skilled immigrants and their spouses and children to make Canada their destination of choice
a clear, workable and efficient process for immigrants to obtain equivalency for their international skills, training and experience
adequate long-term funding for settlement services providers, and
upholding Canada’s humanitarian tradition of providing safe haven for refugees.
The ensuing discussion highlighted concerns in the Iranian community about their safety, given the ineffectiveness of the Liberal government in dealing with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operatives in this country.
Brad subsequently met with members of the Iranian community during his visit to Halifax, and Rick Gibson, President, will be meeting with them in follow-up.
Preparing for the next election
Elections aren't won after the writ is dropped. There's a lot of work to be done ahead of time. Successful campaigns require a presence in the community, people, money, and plans.
Beyond that, we'll need a strong candidate prepared to start campaigning well in advance. If you are interested, or have any suggestions, send us an email at president@halifaxconservatives.ca.
Over the next year, your Board will continue our preparations for the next election.
You can help by:
registering on our website www.halifaxconservatives.ca
joining the Party (go to Membership)
attending our events, and sharing the invites with your friends
helping us to communicate with and/or organize events in your community
following us on Facebook, Instagram, X and/or other social media. Remember to like, comment on, and share our posts.
volunteering, and/or
donating money (remember that, up to $400, 75% of your donation will be refunded through the Federal Political Contribution Tax Credit, and any donation you make to us stays here in Halifax, working to elect a Conservative MP)