I disagree with the author for brushing off Raitt because her French is weak.  French can be learned, leadership attributes are much harder to learn. 

Her policy mix has not received enough press but it would likely have broad appeal:  restore the TFSA to 10k (plus index to inflation), increase the basic personal exemption to 15k, reduce government duplication and waste, prioritize/modernize health care and spend on transportation infrastructure.  There's just enough there for social conservatives (repeal carbon tax and implement a taxpayer protection act) but rather than raising immigration 'values test' or 'social fabric' divisions, she emphasizes inclusiveness, which the Tories must do to win.  

And she could beat Trudeau - female voters may well see through the self-proclaimed feminist and try to push the glass ceiling with Raitt (if you don't count Kim Campbell's brief stint as PM).   And like Ambrose, she is articulate and would constantly call out Trudeau on his fiscal mess.