The Conservatives are clearly on an election footing. "We are getting ready for a campaign that could come quite soon," said Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay to a ballroom full of supporters in Kelowna. "A campaign that in some instances and some ways is already underway."

With the fall of their government only a Stephane Dion moment of conviction away, heavy-hitting cabinet ministers are dropping into the ridings of their backbench teammates to boost the profiles and campaign coffers of lesser-light MPs.

Even without any official government business to bring him here, MacKay found time to breeze into the riding of Kelowna-Lake Country for a mid-January fundraiser. The $125/plate event to support the local MP, Ron Cannan, was billed as a dinner with Peter MacKay, but he only made it in time for coffee and dessert.

Not that the sell-out partisan crowd minded. The 192 attendees greeted him with a standing ovation. They were eager to hear MacKay take swipes at the Liberals and pump up the importance of Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

Conservative stronghold

Kelowna-Lake Country is the epitome of a Conservative stronghold. For eons, the area voted Tory blue before it overwhelmingly switched to the Reform Party in 1993. Reform and Conservative candidates have typically scored double the votes of their closest competitor. Cannan was first elected in 2006 with 49 per cent of the vote in a five person race.

At his fundraiser, the tables were occupied mostly by small-business people and senior citizens with a sprinkling of local politicians. There were also a few young people, mostly members of UBC Okanagan's Young Conservatives Club and the Junior Chamber of Commerce. And the riding next door, Okanagan-Coquihalla, is Stockwell Day country.

Which means, given the political need for regional balance at the cabinet table, Cannan is unlikely to become a cabinet minister himself. But MacKay wanted diners to know that their guy in Ottawa is still a valued member of the Conservative team who plays an important role in implementing the government's agenda.

"Ron is one of the more active members who not only sits on one or two committees but is often called upon to go to fill in on a number of committees that we have because in a minority parliament our numbers are quite stretched," MacKay said. "He's sort of like a utility infielder. He can play third base, you can put him at second base, sometimes he'll play in the outfield as well."

Taliban hockey jokes

Sports metaphors go over well here, as does support for the military and its missions. MacKay framed Canada's role in Afghanistan as that of a white knight. Before Canada and its allies invaded, the Taliban controlled republic, he said, human rights did not exist, especially for women, who were not allowed to vote or participate in government.

"They could not walk the streets without a burqa," he said, invoking a symbol North Americans often equate with barbarism.

MacKay then emphasized how the Taliban prevented girls from going to school. "Is there anything more backwards or oppressive than a country that does not allow their youth to be educated?" he asked rhetorically.

The implication was Canada has put Afghanistan back on the road to civilization. "We have made tremendous strides in that country to bring about a stable, more productive and peaceful society," MacKay said. "And here's a shocker. There are more women sitting in the parliament of Afghanistan than in the government of Canada." Apparently the government of Canada is able to do more for gender equality in Afghanistan than it can within its own ranks.

The awkward attempt at humour elicited only a few uncomfortable giggles. But among friends, it was easy to recover. His next joke brought the house down.

It turns out the head of the armed forces, Gen. Rick Hillier, is an avid hockey fan and ardent supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a revelation that drew groans from the crowd. Last May, Hillier arranged for the Stanley Cup to visit the Kandahar base to help boost troop morale. So when MacKay dropped in to Afghanistan over Christmas, he couldn't resist taking a friendly dig.

"I said to him, 'Chief, it's a really wonderful thing you did, bringing the Stanley Cup to see the soldiers in Afghanistan. It's a shame that the Taliban have been closer to the Stanley Cup than the Maple Leafs have.'"

Bragging about environment

One front MacKay's government has taken a lot of flak on is the environment. But all he had to say about it is how proud he is of the Conservative's initiatives, "in spite of the efforts to drown out what John Baird, the environment minister and our government are trying to do to bring about true change."

Of course there were plenty of digs at the Liberals. He portrayed the Chretien and Martin years as times of lots of talk but little action. And the actions they did take were despicable. MacKay seemed especially bitter about Chretien's cancellation of a helicopter order when he first took over from Mulroney. The move cost taxpayers $500 million and left the military flying its aging Sea King helicopters for another 15 years.

Putting on a mock Quebecois accent, MacKay imitated Chretien's campaign promise, "I'll take my pen and write zero helicopters," he bellowed.

For his best partisan dig, MacKay used an anecdote about famed Conservative Sir John A. Macdonald, who was also Canada's first prime minister.

"In a fit of rhetoric and rage, condemning the Liberal party of the day, he got up on a manure spreader that he was standing next to," he said. "And he continued to castigate the Liberal party and point out their obvious failings . . . and midway, mid-flight in his speech, he looked down and noticed he was standing on a manure spreader. And he didn't miss a beat, he said 'Well, this is the first time I can honestly say I've spoken from a Liberal platform.'"

The story was a hit, even with the lone Liberal sitting at a front table. Al Horning is the Kelowna-Lake Country MLA in Gordon Campbell's Liberal B.C. government.

Socred ghosts

Back in 1988, Horning was elected as the Progressive Conservative MP for Kelowna and served in Brian Mulroney's government along with MacKay's father, Elmer MacKay. After MacKay's speech, Horning explained why there is no bad blood between provincial Liberals and federal Conservatives.

"We've got a (BC Liberal) caucus that's got a lot of federal Liberals, got a lot of federal Conservatives in it, and you know, a lot of them are the old provincial Socreds and what have you," he said. "That's all in the name, I think."

However, for most in this crowd, the distinctions between the parties remain important. Don McDonald is a fairly typical Kelowna resident. He's retired and originally from Alberta. He worked for Sears Canada as a sales manager for 34 years before moving to Kelowna and becoming a developer.

"The Conservative Party and the present Conservative government is right on track," he said as he waited in the receiving line for his turn to bend MacKay's ear and shake his hand. "They make decisions immediately, they don't sit on their hands. They have addressed the Afghanistan thing. They have approached the environmental issue in a proper way. They've analyzed it, documented it. They've made a plan."

McDonald especially likes the current PM. "Stephen Harper is decisive, he's intelligent, he doesn't beat around the bush. He makes decisions and he gets things done."

And if folks around here get their way, he'll be doing those things for a whole lot longer.

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• Drying up the Okanagan
  Thirsty region is 'canary in coal mine' for BC and water.
• Bill Bennett Reconsidered
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