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Frankly, I think it speaks poorly about the people of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes if they would rather vote for extreme fringe parties than for a party that reflects their views because the leader is Albertan and they merged with the Reform party.
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I guess it all depends on your POV. East of Manitoba, the Reform Party was seen as an "extreme fringe party", and the current CPC is largely regarded as a continuation of that party with much of the same leadership but a new name. Harper isn't even from Alberta originally, and his province of residence has absolutely nothing to do with his lack of appeal to Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic voters. When Joe Clark led the PC Party (and represented the Alberta riding of Calgary Centre), he had no problems winning votes in Eastern and Central Canada.