Half of the 12 declared candidates for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) will no longer be able to campaign.
The formation finally announced its official list of aspiring leaders on Monday through the voice of Ian Brodie, president of the organizing committee for the election.
In all, six candidates will battle it out to beat Erin O’Toole, with Pierre Poilievre – considered a favorite -, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis, Patrick Bown, Scott Aitchison and Roman Baber.
Five other contenders qualified for the validity of the first round of the race, on April 19, Leona Alleslev, Marc Dalton, Joseph Bourgault, Joel Etienne and Grant Abraham. However, they failed to validate their applications.
In mid -March, Toronto businessman Bobby Singh also announced his intention to run for party leadership, but his name was not among the candidates who passed the first round – on April 19 -, requiring payment of $ 50,000 in registration fees.
The other 11 candidates had until last Friday to fulfill a series of conditions. Specifically, they had to collect 500 signatures and $ 300,000, including $ 200,000 in registration fees and $ 100,000 in a compliance deposit (refundable).
Rejected candidates ask for explanations
Former MP Leona Alleslev, who once served as deputy head of CCP under Andrew Scheer, and Marc Dalton, who currently represents British Columbia’s ride at Pitt Meadows — Maple Ridge in the Commons, announced in recent days that they had failed to prove the party their candidacy.
The two politicians admitted they failed to raise the required $ 300,000 on April 29. This was not the case for the three other rejected contenders.
On Twitter, Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault and British Columbia lawyer Grant Abraham said Monday they sought an explanation from the party because they believe they met all the conditions to participate in the race.
According to our information, Toronto attorney Joel Etienne also made a similar request, privately.
MP Leslyn Lewis, who is in her second leadership career in two years, tweeted on Monday that the party should let them compete.
” We want a fair race, he says, in English. I am not afraid of tough battles, and the Conservative Party should not exclude legitimate candidates. “
It’s important to note that, in the leadership contest rules announced in March, the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) reserves the right to disqualify certain candidates, even if they collect 500 signatures and $ 300,000 before April 29th.
According to these rules, the Leadership Contestant Nomination Committee (CICC) can count any other information that it deems useful to verify a candidate’s suitability and recommend to CEOC that a particular candidate will be barred from standing.
We also know that Joseph Bourgault and Grant Abraham – like Leslyn Lewis and Marc Dalton – received the support of Campaign Life Coalitiona pro-life group that has long sought to pull the party to the right on social issues.
A fan of former US President Donald Trump, Mr. Bourgault also took part in a demonstration by truckers on Parliament Hill last winter.
For Grant Abraham, he notably criticized Conservative MPs after the unanimous adoption of Commons of Bill C-4 banning conversion therapy in December.
Four debates this month
Candidate leaders who have certified candidacy must participate in official party debates, which will take place on May 11 in Edmonton (in English) and on May 25 in Montreal (in French). A third game can also be added later.
Meanwhile, a first debate, unofficial this time, will take place on Thursday in the presence of all the candidates, except Patrick Brown, who is campaigning behind the cameras along with the cultural communities. This debate was organized by the network Canada is strong and free (the former Manning Center). It was held in English, in Ottawa.
The fourth debate, also in English, was organized byIndependent Press Gallery of Canada on May 30 in Toronto, but so far, only Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis and Roman Baber have pledged to participate.
Although some observers seem to believe that Pierre Poilievre will soon be elected on September 10, each candidate can have an impact on the outcome of the race, as the rules of the race provide for an exceptional voting system. , which often leads to a multi -round election.
However, such a system tends to favor “consensus” candidates. It also resulted in the defeat of the “leaders” in the last two races for the leadership of CCPthat of Maxime Bernier, in 2017, and Peter MacKay, in 2020.
Information from Christian Noël and John Paul Tasker (CBC)
Source: Radio-Canada
