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This weekend’s Conservative leadership convention shared space at the Toronto Congress Centre with the (much better-attended) 2017 Anime North convention. The National Post’s Maura Forrest took the opportunity to get out of the political bubble and talk to some real Canadians about their views on the issues and who they were hoping would win the leadership.

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Name: Jim McDonald

Character: Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony

Preferred candidate: Uncertain, but is glad Kevin O’Leary dropped out

On fiscal policy: “I’m definitely all for balancing the budget. … We’re paying, I forget what the percentage is, but it’s a huge percentage of just our annual budget paying interest on the loans. What if we weren’t paying that interest? What could we do with that money?”

On whether dismantling supply management would improve trade relations with the U.S.: “I think it would be a good thing, but with the current leadership in the States, I don’t think it would matter. Because they’d forget it in about five seconds.”

Name: Leah Zajdman

Character: Yami Bakura and the Destiny Board of Doom

Preferred candidate: Michael Chong

On Chong: “I really don’t want what’s happening down there (in the U.S.) to happen up here. So maybe it’s even just the contrast of Michael Chong versus someone like Kellie Leitch. … I remember when I was reading about him, I felt more like, OK, that’s actually a person I could be, like, you know what? Even if I didn’t like him, I’d be OK with him at leadership, as opposed to some of the other people, where I’m like, I don’t want them to touch it, I don’t want them to be near it with a 10-foot pole.”