My name is Leslyn Lewis, and I’m running for Leadership of our great Conservative Party of Canada.

The natural question I get when I tell people that is: Why?

It’s a fair question. I’m a mother of two who has spent her professional life building a law firm in Toronto. I tend to invest my “spare” time volunteering for community organizations and at my church, rather than building a network of political connections.

I’m not running to be a hero who claims she can single-handedly defeat Justin Trudeau.

I am running to renew our Party, so we win this next election together and form a truly conservative government in Ottawa.

I believe that within our party, we have grassroots supporters and caucus members with the ideas to get our country back on the right track. Ideas that reflect courage, compassion and common sense.

We need to have the courage to stand against the current wave of lawlessness sweeping our country. We need to stand up for the values that make this country great including respect for democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.

We need the courage to develop our natural resources, even when foreign interference and professional protesters work to undermine our economy.

As Conservatives we all know that government programs can’t replace the best social safety net that comes from family, friends and community. But when we do invest taxpayer dollars, we need to do it with true compassion that actually helps people.

It is both conservative AND compassionate to defend the safety and security of all Canadians, while offering greater support to our most vulnerable, including the elderly, veterans, the disabled, and families struggling to meet their daily needs.

I will lead with courage and uphold the family as the cornerstone of our society and protect a parent’s right to raise their children according to their values and not those dictated by the government.

And every policy we bring in should be rooted in common sense. Heaping debt on future generations is a bad idea. A carbon tax that significantly hurts those without much money, while doing nothing for the environment, should be killed. It’s not racist to say that there should be order to the chaotic immigration approach Justin Trudeau has put in place.

The UN shouldn’t have final say about Canadian policies, and governments should not replace parents when it comes to raising children.

Canadians agree with these conservative principles.

We need to come together, and use our next Policy Convention as an opportunity for Party members to help shape our next election platform.

We will only win if we work together.

I am ready to lead that process, and take a united Party into battle against the Liberals in the next election.

We need to do things differently if we’re going to win the next election.

Let’s win...together.