Prime Minister Stephen Harper appeared to reach out to Quebec voters during a keynote address at his party's convention Friday, saying that the province's dalliance with Jack Layton's NDP won't last.

In fact, Harper predicted that Quebecers would move toward the Conservative party once the honeymoon period ends with the NDP, who won a record amount of seats in Quebec that has catapulted them into the official Opposition.

But Harper also told a packed audience of the party faithful in Ottawa that his government's goals go beyond domestic desires.

"We take strong principled decisions," said Harper, noting that his government aims to choose what's right over what's popular.

"And that is what the world can count on from Canada," he said.

Harper also took a shot at the United Nations, saying that Canada isn't concerned with the opinion of every dictator that occupies a seat. Harper was likely referring to a UN vote in which Canada failed to win a seat on the Security Council this year.

Still, Harper noted that Canada should be prepared to take on a greater role in international affairs, as power shifts away from the traditional brokers to emerging countries.

Earlier, Conservatives at the party's convention in Ottawa defeated four contentious proposals that would give large ridings more of a say in future party leadership races. But one proposal has garnered enough support that delegates will debate it on Saturday.

Ontario MP Scott Reid has been campaigning for the proposal that will be debated Saturday, as the party holds its first convention since taking a majority of seats in the federal election last month.

While the event was billed as an opportunity to celebrate the federal election victory, the debate over leadership rules provided a glimpse of internal divisions between the Conservatives' most ambitious MPs.

According to the party's current constitution, all riding associations have an equal say in choosing the leader. That formula was key to the deal that merged the Progressive Conservatives and Canadian Alliance in 2003.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who is widely considered a potential candidate to succeed Prime Minister Stephen Harper as party leader, backed the proposed rule change. Defence Minister Peter MacKay has been a staunch supporter of the current formula for choosing a leader.

Delegates meeting at the Ottawa Convention Centre debated Reid's proposal as well as three other suggested amendments that would push the party toward a one-member, one-vote scheme.

Moving toward a one-member, one-vote system would favour leadership candidates in areas where party membership is stronger, such as Ontario and western Canada. Kenney hails from Alberta while MacKay is from Nova Scotia.

All four resolutions were defeated in workshop votes, but MacKay expressed frustration that Reid has championed the issue at the past three conventions.

"I really believe that three strikes, you're out," MacKay said Friday.

"It's time that we focus on party policy, on governing, on turning our eyes away from things that divide us and focusing on what we have now, which is a national, inclusive party that includes all regions, big cities, communities large and small," he told reporters. "We don't want to have a two-tiered party system."

However, Reid managed to win enough signatures to have delegates vote on his proposal Saturday. For it to pass, he would need a majority of votes from all delegates, and a majority of delegates from each province and territory.

Kenney said he would like to see the party move to a one-member, one-vote system, but he recognizes the party hasn't reached a consensus on the issue.

"I think what Scott's trying to do here is craft a middle-ground, compromise position that people from different perspectives can settle on," Kenney said Friday.

"It respects both the principle that some ridings are going to be limited in how many members they can recruit, but it can also give them an incentive to sell memberships."

With files from The Canadian Press