Harper tells party to put ideology aside in face of economic crisis

Conservatives must put ideology aside as they prepare to weather looming economic challenges facing the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed more than 1,000 Conservative party delegates in Winnipeg Thursday night.(CBC)

"We face enormous challenges, and our work has only begun," Harper told more than 1,200 delegates to the Conservative Party of Canada's national policy convention in Winnipeg.

Harper told Conservatives they must be practical in their approach to the future and heed the concerns of all people, whether they support the Tories or not.

"We will have to be both tough and pragmatic, not unrealistic or ideological, in dealing with the complex economic challenges that confront us," Harper said.

Most of the rest of his speech was devoted to celebrating the Conservatives' recent election victory.

"This has been a momentous period for Conservatives and for our country. As we gather here together as a party, let us stop and observe for a moment…how far we've come in so short a time," Harper said.

The policy convention, held in Winnipeg, is the party's first in more than three years and the initial meeting of delegates since the Conservatives won another minority government on Oct. 14.

Harper's remarks, delivered nearly an hour behind schedule, came before the convention delegates roll up their sleeves for workshops Friday on proposed policy amendments, which are the heart of party gatherings.

Those workshops will be held behind closed doors before Saturday's plenary session, where delegates will debate and vote on the short-listed resolutions.

None of the resolutions are likely to be too surprising, and none are binding, the CBC's Susan Bonner reported from Winnipeg.

"The Conservatives have just gone through an election, and they have a platform on which they were elected," Bonner said.

Harper to attend Group of 20 summit in D.C. Friday

Don Plett, the party's national council president, said earlier Thursday that there was plenty to discuss during the convention.

"I'm sure there will be talk of how we can improve in all parts of the country, including Quebec," he said, adding Newfoundland and Labrador and the country's major cities.

Delegates will also debate resolutions ranging from preventing the Canadian Human Rights Commission from investigating complaints dealing with hate propaganda to redefining pay equity, he said.

The world's economic crisis will also be discussed, Plett said.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the federal government is considering the sale of some Crown assets as a way of balancing its budget and avoiding a deficit.

Harper is headed to Washington Friday for the Group of 20 leaders summit, where he and other politicians are expected to focus on the global financial crisis over the weekend.

Since the Conservatives won the federal election, there is no leadership review required for Harper, who won the endorsement of 84 per cent of delegates at the 2005 convention.

Observers said they didn't expect anyone to rock the boat at the convention and introduce any radical new policies.

With files from the Canadian Press

Schwarzenegger terminates life settlements bill

David Walker: Debt could ’sink our ship’

Tories would ease foreign ownership restrictions: Harper

Liberals promise to roll back income trust tax

It’s the economy, Canadian business leader says