Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jim Prentice says when history looks back on Stephen Harper, he'll be regarded as one of Canada's greatest prime ministers.
He made his comments Feb. 16 in front of about 70 people at the grand opening of the new Sudbury Conservative Party of Canada headquarters at the Cambrian Foundation.
Prentice told the crowd the Conservative Party is gaining momentum and will be competitive in Northern Ontario although he doesn't think a federal election is in the immediate future.
Some referred to the grand opening as the dawning of a new age for the Conservative Party in Sudbury.
"It's only been about sixty years and coming," said Bob Bateman, president of the Conservative Electoral District Association.
"The most pleasing part of this is that we're getting young people in their twenties and thirties, which we've never ever drawn before. What brought that phenomenon on, I don't know. That's a quantum shift for the Conservative Party."
Bateman said Prentice's appearance at the ribbon cutting builds confidence in the party and its members. He hopes people will respond by throwing their time and energy behind Conservative candidates.
"We want to see these ridings as an essential part of the new Conservative government. There's lots of grassroots work to be done but this Prime Minister and the leadership that he provides and strength that people see in him is making it possible for us to win seats that we haven't held in a long time," Prentice said.
The minister said the fact that party members are already starting to organize in Greater Sudbury, without an imminent election, "speaks to what's going on across Canada."
In addition to cutting the ceremonial blue ribbon and shaking hands with party supporters, Prentice also took the time to attack the new Liberal leader Stephane Dion, calling him a "weak leader" who "flip-flops" and has a "record of failure."
Prentice said the Conservative government has done more in mere months than the Liberals achieved in more than a decade.
"It's all about leadership and which party is going to provide the leadership that Canada needs. It's always the question. Come election time, at the end of the day, it's always what voters have to ask themselves," Prentice said.
Renee Germain, one of the party's younger members and a potential Conservative candidate in Nickel Belt, also feels encouraged by Prentice's visit. It means Sudbury is on the federal radar, she said.
"I don't think it's much of a challenge," said Germain, 23, when asked what it would take to elect a Conservative MP in Sudbury or Nickel Belt
"Especially in Nickel Belt, a lot of the population is francophone and for the longest time we had this notion that if you're French, you should be voting Liberal, meanwhile they have Conservative values and I don't think it's about language anymore but it's about values as Canadians. That's why I'm a part of the Conservative Party."
Prentice pledged his support to the local Conservatives and said he'd be back in Greater Sudbury during the next election campaign.
