Orchard is a fourth-generation organic grain farmer, and also the author of the bestselling book The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism.
[1] Orchard describes his own views as being conservative in the "historical mainstream" and "centrist" of the PC party, and claimed they would appeal to moderate Canadians.
Orchard's beliefs are perhaps best likened to that of the traditional, British Tory, which although historically common in Canada, lost much of their relevance since the rise of the so-called neoconservative faction.
Such claims were common during his bids for PC leader, when he was accused being an opportunist who tried to practise entryism, and take over the Progressive Conservative Party and steer it sharply to the left and away from the conservatism of Brian Mulroney and Margaret Thatcher.
In his first attempt, he finished a distant second to former prime minister Joe Clark on the final ballot but attracted a very different group of supporters to the Tory party in doing so.
During the relatively quiet race, Clark referred to Orchard as a "tourist" in the Tory party because of his left-leaning economic platform and opposition to the free trade agreements brokered by the Mulroney government.
In one debate, opponent Brian Pallister quipped that "Mr. Orchard is so left-wing, he thinks Svend Robinson is a right-wing maniac."
[2] Orchard ultimately came in third on the third ballot in the 2003 PC convention, behind Nova Scotia Member of Parliament (MP) Peter MacKay and Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice.
MacKay signed a written deal, or "gentleman's agreement" to seal support from Orchard's largely loyal delegates on the final ballot.
In a high-profile news conference in early November he suggested that the new Conservative Party of Canada was "an abomination, conceived in deception, born in betrayal."
Orchard argued that before the merger was announced, the Canadian Alliance and its leader, Stephen Harper, were highly unpopular and a moment was fast approaching for the PCs to reemerge as the national alternative to the governing Liberals.
The PC Party opted for a "virtual convention" in which delegates were selected in ridings and then attended local provincial urban centres in which they voted for or against the merger.
Orchard also faced speculation from some opponents and journalists in regard to his motivations to preserve the Progressive Conservative political name brand.
Some critics suggested that he was really attempting to undermine Peter MacKay's merger stance in order to force a resignation and prompt another leadership race, allowing for a "takeover" by Orchard and his supporters.
[3] In February 2004, he was asked to take over the leadership of the struggling Canadian Action Party after the resignation of its leader, Paul Hellyer, but Orchard declined.
On January 31, 2006, a Toronto judge ordered the Conservative Party of Canada to pay Orchard $70,000, the funds from his 2003 leadership campaign which he had been owed since then.
Orchard's nomination fight was ultimately terminated on January 3, 2008 when Dion announced via a news release that Joan Beatty would be appointed as the candidate for that riding, a decision that was the subject of some controversy.
[8][9] Métis leader Jim Durocher, an Orchard supporter, wrote a letter to Dion complaining about his decision to appoint a candidate rather than allow for party members to vote in a nomination meeting.
"[10] The media also reported that Liberal party House Leader and Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale, a former finance minister, was opposed to Orchard's candidacy in the by-election.