Article content

OTTAWA — Conservative party elder statesman Peter MacKay says he won’t endorse any Tory leadership candidate, but argues likability is important for the next leader and cautions that identity politics pushed by some hopefuls is “a swamp” the party should avoid.

MacKay said Thursday that he’s impressed with the strength of candidates in the Conservative leadership contest, and noted former cabinet colleagues Lisa Raitt, Erin O’Toole and Chris Alexander as formidable contenders.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Peter MacKay won't endorse any Tory leadership candidate, warns against identity politics ‘swamp’ Back to video

However, he’s also concerned with the tone of debate and some of the controversial proposals from candidates like Kellie Leitch and Steven Blaney, who have focused their campaigns on identity politics.

MacKay believes that concentrating on contentious identity politics won’t help the party and it isn’t what Canadians are most worried about daily.

“It’s a bit of a swamp and not where Canadians’ priorities really can be found right now,” he said. “I don’t think that people are focusing on those issues and they don’t tend to focus on those issues.