Seek debate, not division, Erin O’Toole urges in final House of Commons speech

The retiring former Conservative leader and Ontario MP called on his colleagues to focus on what he said should be figuring out the country's national purpose.

If members of Parliament do not avoid the dangers of “performance politics” and chasing “likes” on social media, future Canadians will look back on the current moment as the start of the country’s decline, Erin O’Toole warned Monday.

The former Conservative leader and Ontario MP used his last address to the House of Commons to issue a call to colleagues to focus on what he said should be figuring out the country’s national purpose.

Instead of debating that he said, “too many of us are often chasing algorithms down a sinkhole of diversion and division.”

“We are becoming elected officials who judge our self-worth by how many ‘likes’ we get on social media, but now not how many lives we change in the real world.”

“Performance politics is fuelling polarization. Virtue-signalling is replacing discussion and far too often we’re just using this Chamber to generate clips, not to start national debates.”

O’Toole is retiring from federal politics at the end of the month after first being elected in a byelection in 2012. From there, the lawyer and former Royal Canadian Air Force member served as parliamentary secretary to Ed Fast, then-trade minister in the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

Before the Conservatives lost government in 2015, O’Toole was appointed to serve as minister for veterans affairs at a troubling time for the portfolio, as the country was adjusting to the return of soldiers who fought in Afghanistan.

After the Tories lost power, O’Toole set his sights on leadership of the party, placing third in its 2017 leadership contest to replace Harper. He ultimately won its 2020 race, but was faced with leading it through the height of COVID-19-related lockdowns.