Mr. Speaker, no one can dispute that the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance Party has exceeded all expectations, as evidenced by the rise in the polls of the new Conservative Party, and in our ability to hold the Liberal government to account in a much more effective way.
A great deal of the credit goes to our interim leader, the very distinguished member for Macleod, who has steered this ship through the fog and provided great leadership for every member of the caucus as we brought the two teams together.
His mild manner hides the determination with which he attacks the job. On many occasions in this House, he surprised the Liberal ministers across the way when that mild manner transformed into a very aggressive and focused attack. I can think of no one who could have performed this very important role any better for our team.
Every member of the new Conservative caucus congratulates him on a great job well done and is very grateful for his dedication, his skill, his leadership and his friendship.