John Walsh, President of the Conservative Party of Canada, issued the following statement on December 7, 2013:
Ten years ago, on December 7, 2013, the Conservative Party of Canada was born.
Many things have changed since then – but the principles that unite us remain the same.
More jobs, lower taxes, and a stronger economy – that’s what we promised, and that’s what we’ve delivered.
Here is a list of our top 10 achievements as a party.
In the past 10 years, we’ve accomplished a lot together – let’s make the next ten even better.
1. Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement – The Canada-E.U. Free Trade Agreement is the biggest free trade deal Canada has ever made. This historic agreement is the equivalent of adding 80,000 new jobs here in Canada.
2. One million net new jobs added since the recession – When the global recession hit, we took swift action to strengthen our economy. Since then, we’ve added more than one million net new jobs – the best record in the G7.
3. Cut the GST – We promised to lower taxes – and we delivered. We cut the GST and many other taxes, saving the average family more than $3,000 each year.
4. Strongest Economy in the G7 – Under Stephen Harper’s leadership, Canada has had the strongest job growth, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio, and the best economy in the G7. We’ve also been ranked the best place in the world to do business, and our banks are the soundest in the world.
5. Universal Child Care Benefit – We are the only party that has stood up for Canada’s real child care experts: parents. The UCCB gives families $100/month per child.
6. Federal Accountability Act – We cleaned up Ottawa by bringing in the toughest ethics legislation in history – the Federal Accountability Act.
7. Balanced Budget by 2015 – Our critics said there was no way we could balance the budget by 2015. We’re not only going to balance the budget – we’re on track to run a surplus.
8. Scrapped the Long Gun Registry – Promise made, promised kept – we scrapped the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry, and we are the only party that will never bring it back
9. Keeping our Communities Safe – We are the only party that is tough on crime. We’ve introduced tougher penalties for violent criminals, cracked down on sex offenders, and made sure the rights of victims outweigh the rights of criminals.
10. Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers – We ended the wheat board monopoly – never again will Western farmers be told how they can and can’t market their own products.
