Whatever is in Andrew Scheer’s heart today on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, we still don’t quite know.

But the Conservative leader revealed on Thursday with clarity what’s in his head, vowing to oppose any effort to revisit either issue, including any attempt to advance social legislation from his own backbench.

Pushing back hard after more than a week of Liberal attacks hinting a Scheer government might take Canada back in time to the social norms of the mid-20th century, the Conservative leader promised otherwise, saying, “I will always oppose measures that reopen these types of debates.”

On same-sex marriage, Scheer spelled it out in both French and English, declaring the issue “settled’ since 2005.

“A vote was held, it’s settled. Canadians have moved on, I’ve moved on,” he told reporters at Toronto Pearson International Airport. “I will always stand up for the equality rights of LGBT Canadians. It is completely hypocritical for the Liberals to bring this up now to divide Canadians, to use this issue for political partisan purposes.”

On abortion, Scheer similarly dismissed Liberal fear-mongering, saying his government, should he be elected, would not touch the issue. Moreover, said Scheer, while it remains Conservative policy to allow a free vote on matters of conscience, he would oppose any backbench effort to reopen the abortion debate.

Asked whether he would punish any MP who tries to introduce an abortion bill, Scheer noted that the Conservatives are “the only party that allows people to hold a deeply held personal view on these types of issues. That being said, we also recognize … we will oppose measures to reopen this. So I am confident my party, my caucus, understands that. And as I said, as prime minister of Canada I will always oppose measures that reopen these types of debates.”

So this is where he stands. But on questions of how he got from there to here — how he reconciles his own personal views as a devout Roman Catholic with the issue of abortion, and whether he now regrets employing a dog-and-tail metaphor during a 2005 speech opposing same-sex marriage — Scheer was less forthcoming. Each attempt to elicit his personal viewpoint was answered with a pivot back to the headline message: a hard promise to not reopen social issues.

On the question of faith, Scheer would not engage in pulling back the veil on his own beliefs, returning to the talking points and insisting he would “govern for all Canadians.” On the 15-year-old dog-and-tail word choice “dredged up” by his Liberal rivals — and on the question of whether he still believes same-sex marriages are not proper marriages because the partners cannot “naturally procreate” — no answers there, either. Instead, the pivot back to the reassuring headline message that he accepts and will defend the status quo. “My own personal view,” he added, “is that every human being has the same inherent dignity.”

Was it enough? Unsurprisingly, it was not, in the view of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who responded from Vancouver, saying, “Leaders need to defend everyone, particularly people who’ve been marginalized.

“It’s not enough to reluctantly support the law because it’s a law, especially when it comes to the rights of women and LGBT2Q communities,” said Trudeau.

Scheer’s message to Trudeau, from the lectern at Pearson airport and in later messages on social media, was that the weeklong barrage of attacks is nothing more than “an attempt to distract Canadians from his litany of failures.

“Trudeau can’t run on his record. He can’t possibly defend all of his broken promises, massive deficits, tax increases and ethics scandals,” said Scheer. “That’s why he’s dredging up divisive social issues.”

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