Well, no one will be able to accuse him of not going after the NDP's working class demographic.
The National Post published an article on Labour Day quoting a number of conservative thinkers on how the Conservative Party should go after union members and even seek the endorsement of unions.
These thinkers pointed out that unions play an essential role in providing a counterbalance to wealthy interests and that unions can provide social stability by achieving higher pay for workers. They also point out that unions play a major role in social society by assisting charities and other non-profits.
To the degree that modern conservatives genuinely embrace stability, I think they make some important points why Conservative Party should seek the support of unions.
In the Canadian context, the ban on corporate and union donations has reduced, though far from eliminated, the influence of corporations in Canada. Corporate executives may be very wealthy, but they don't combine for a lot of votes.
The problem I see for the Conservatives is that the small business owners collectively seem to be more anti union than large corporate executives in Canada and there are a lot of small business owners. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business seems to be a very powerful player in the Canadian Conservative Party.
Interestingly, in New Brunswick, one of the star Progressive Conservative candidates is one of the top trade unionists in Canada.
