Federal Politics
For many years, Eves was known as the most prominent supporter of the federal Progressive Conservative Party in Mike Harris's government. He had supported Joe Clark from the first ballot at the party's 1976 leadership convention, and continued to support the federal Tories in the 1990s despite the rise of the Reform Party as a rival right-wing force. He endorsed Hugh Segal's bid for the leadership of the federal party in 1998.
Eves took out a membership in the Canadian Alliance in 2000 to support Tom Long's leadership bid, but rejoined the Tories after Stockwell Day was chosen as the Canadian Alliance leader. During the 2002 Ontario PC Party leadership race, Eves and his supporters invited federal PC Party leader Joe Clark to attend as an honorary delegate. No such invitation was extended by any camp to the newly minted Canadian Alliance leader and future Tory leader Stephen Harper. Harper did, however, attend the provincial PC convention in late 2004 as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Eves's support of the new Conservative Party of Canada has been somewhat lukewarm, in that he made a number of comments favourable to the Liberal government of Paul Martin in 2003 and 2004.
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