The riding of Papineau is in for an interesting spectacle when the writ drops for the upcoming federal election. Represented by Justin “Free the Curls” Trudeau, there is little doubt Papineau will go Liberal. However, the Conservative party candidate is sure to draw attention to his campaign. Why? Because it’s a joke. And he has now resigned, leaving the Conservative spot empty just months before the election.
Two artists unite.
CERTAINLY NOT JUSTIN
Chris Lloyd became the Conservative’s official candidate for Papineau in February. He worked his way through the ranks of the Conservative riding association, which was literally headquartered in a Tim Hortons (please take notice, Mulcair). He asked to attend the national convention, to which the association executives grew suspicious of his intentions.
The Conservatives were right to take Lloyd’s interest with a grain of salt. Still, their excellent track record of vetting public officials meant the performance artist’s candidacy was approved.
Lloyd is assuming a “persona” of a hardline Conservative, possibly to show dad that all of those postmodern theatre classes he took were not a waste of money.
In his blog, “Dear PM”, which he has been doing for years, Lloyd writes to Harper. These letters are often benign or critical in nature.
“The easiest persona I’ve been able to summon up … is to somehow convince myself that by taking on the Conservative candidature, I’m doing it to defeat some greater evil which is perhaps Justin Trudeau. So I’m earnestly trying to unseat him and I can sleep at night with that idea, with that knowledge.” he told an audience in Fredericton.
When pressed about his concrete objectives, Lloyd doesn’t exactly have a plan. It’s kind of a nice metaphor for his life.
It’s unclear what the Conservatives would have done with Lloyd had he stayed. They could have revoked his nomination and faced backlash, or let the guy lose to Trudeau. Instead, he resigned, neatly tidying up that loose end. Except, party officials said the vetting process for the candidate was the same used for all other Conservative nominees. Perhaps the last 11 years of the Conservative party’s existence is all a performance art, expertly concocted by Steve “Stéfan” Harper. In which case– take note, Chris. This is how you impress daddy.