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OTTAWA — Peter MacKay officially launched his leadership campaign on Saturday with a speech that emphasized his experience on the world stage, and promised to unify and expand the Conservative Party ahead of the next election.

“Together we’ll expand outward that big blue tent, while strengthening its solid poles of conservative principle,” he said in a speech in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, the area which he represented in Parliament from 1997 to 2015.

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“I stand here before you today with my heart on my sleeve for every Canadian, whoever you love, wherever you live,” he said.

The speech leaned heavily on MacKay’s experience in senior cabinet roles during Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, particularly his time as foreign affairs minister and defence minister. While pitching himself as a Prime Minister in waiting, he also took shots at Justin Trudeau.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

“I’ve taken part in negotiations on behalf of our country at NATO and UN tables,” he said. “Leadership on the world stage requires serious diplomacy. To advance Canada’s interests requires authenticity of action, measured by outcomes, not selfies or photo ops or dressing up or dancing.”