At a fundraising breakfast in Regina, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer told his audience that faith, family, and friends keep him grounded in elected office..Held at the Hotel Saskatchewan, about 300 people heard the former Conservative leader’s comments at an event sponsored by the Christian organization Providence 4 Missions. Asked to speak on the intersection of faith, leadership, and politics, Scheer said memories of his Catholic upbringing have never left him..“When I'd be angry, [Mom would] say, ‘We're never happy when we're upset.’ That sounds like one of those Yogi Berra bits of philosophy. But there's some deep meaning in that, right?” Scheer said..“[Mom] was oozing with a deep love for our religion and really enjoyed going to church and celebrating the holy days and Easter and Christmas and all that. But it really gave her a real sense of joy. And that was infectious for us as kids,” he said. .Scheer described his father as a “scholar and philosopher” who filled his childhood home with books, some of them old and out of print..“My dad would say something like, ‘I could always have more kids but they're not making any more of that book.'”.Before he was first elected in 2004, the Regina–Qu'Appelle MP married Jill Ryan, the older sister of famous Roughriders' punter Jon Ryan. When asked what it was like to welcome their fifth child, Scheer joked, “Imagine yourself drowning and then someone throws you another baby.”.Like parenting, politics is a lot harder when you’re in it, Scheer said..“I used to think, ‘Why do [elected] people get upset just because of criticism if you know that you're doing the right thing? Why? It's just noise,' but boy, when it's happening to you, you can understand it,” he said..“It does break down people because we are emotional people. We're not just robots with logical programming, because we have emotions, we have feelings. We get tired, we get angry, we get hungry and upset, you know?”.Scheer said it’s important to get support from others, though not everyone can offer support for the same reasons..“There are colleagues of mine that I find if I want to run a speech by them or talk policy, they're fantastic for it, but I may not ask them for moral support," said Sheer. ."There are people in my life that are just great to lean on during those times if I was just getting a ton of criticism for a decision that I made that I know was right.".“Whether it's religious aspects, or professional or family, some people in our lives, or some aspects of our life drain our batteries.".He said be believes it's important to have people in your life that help "recharge your batteries" or "you begin to come apart." .Scheer said politicians need convictions that run deeper than the latest opinion polls..“I make sure that my voters know where I stand on the important issues," he said. ."When I get to Ottawa, obviously, we'll work together, we might have to give and take a little bit. But I have those guardrails, those navigation points that I can say, ‘No, I just don't go in that direction. And if you want something that goes in that direction, you're going to have to vote for somebody else, because I am who I am.’”.An audience member asked if Sheer had any advice for Christians who wanted to enter politics but were concerned about the backlash. Scheer recalled how early in his political career, a mentor shared the words of Jesus with him..“We don't know scripture as well as our Protestant friends; we just let the Pope tell us what's in it,” Scheer joked..“We can't throw down the verses quite as well. But…we were told it wouldn't be easy, right? In fact, quite the opposite. We're told it would be hard to be a person of faith, to be a Christian. And in terms of the public space, we were promised that it would be difficult.".“And their attack may be getting some publicity, but you know that you're doing the right thing; you know that you’re inspired by the right thing. Use that as motivation to work even harder.”
At a fundraising breakfast in Regina, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer told his audience that faith, family, and friends keep him grounded in elected office..Held at the Hotel Saskatchewan, about 300 people heard the former Conservative leader’s comments at an event sponsored by the Christian organization Providence 4 Missions. Asked to speak on the intersection of faith, leadership, and politics, Scheer said memories of his Catholic upbringing have never left him..“When I'd be angry, [Mom would] say, ‘We're never happy when we're upset.’ That sounds like one of those Yogi Berra bits of philosophy. But there's some deep meaning in that, right?” Scheer said..“[Mom] was oozing with a deep love for our religion and really enjoyed going to church and celebrating the holy days and Easter and Christmas and all that. But it really gave her a real sense of joy. And that was infectious for us as kids,” he said. .Scheer described his father as a “scholar and philosopher” who filled his childhood home with books, some of them old and out of print..“My dad would say something like, ‘I could always have more kids but they're not making any more of that book.'”.Before he was first elected in 2004, the Regina–Qu'Appelle MP married Jill Ryan, the older sister of famous Roughriders' punter Jon Ryan. When asked what it was like to welcome their fifth child, Scheer joked, “Imagine yourself drowning and then someone throws you another baby.”.Like parenting, politics is a lot harder when you’re in it, Scheer said..“I used to think, ‘Why do [elected] people get upset just because of criticism if you know that you're doing the right thing? Why? It's just noise,' but boy, when it's happening to you, you can understand it,” he said..“It does break down people because we are emotional people. We're not just robots with logical programming, because we have emotions, we have feelings. We get tired, we get angry, we get hungry and upset, you know?”.Scheer said it’s important to get support from others, though not everyone can offer support for the same reasons..“There are colleagues of mine that I find if I want to run a speech by them or talk policy, they're fantastic for it, but I may not ask them for moral support," said Sheer. ."There are people in my life that are just great to lean on during those times if I was just getting a ton of criticism for a decision that I made that I know was right.".“Whether it's religious aspects, or professional or family, some people in our lives, or some aspects of our life drain our batteries.".He said be believes it's important to have people in your life that help "recharge your batteries" or "you begin to come apart." .Scheer said politicians need convictions that run deeper than the latest opinion polls..“I make sure that my voters know where I stand on the important issues," he said. ."When I get to Ottawa, obviously, we'll work together, we might have to give and take a little bit. But I have those guardrails, those navigation points that I can say, ‘No, I just don't go in that direction. And if you want something that goes in that direction, you're going to have to vote for somebody else, because I am who I am.’”.An audience member asked if Sheer had any advice for Christians who wanted to enter politics but were concerned about the backlash. Scheer recalled how early in his political career, a mentor shared the words of Jesus with him..“We don't know scripture as well as our Protestant friends; we just let the Pope tell us what's in it,” Scheer joked..“We can't throw down the verses quite as well. But…we were told it wouldn't be easy, right? In fact, quite the opposite. We're told it would be hard to be a person of faith, to be a Christian. And in terms of the public space, we were promised that it would be difficult.".“And their attack may be getting some publicity, but you know that you're doing the right thing; you know that you’re inspired by the right thing. Use that as motivation to work even harder.”
